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This week Lifetime’s Project Runway will return to the little screen, and if the previous nine seasons are any indication, it will be choc-a-block with queer contestants, including Gunnar Deatherage, who was eliminated in the first episode last season and is (surprise!) back again. In fact, more and more reality shows are featuring LGBT contestants or cast mates including Jake Nodar, the gay horse trainer on Full Metal Jousting; Robear Chinosi the gay tattoo artist on NY Ink; and Dani Shay and Tyler Ford, the lesbian and transgender (respectively) musicians on The Glee Project. Here are a few reality shows with LGBT characters you won’t want to miss.

Fernanda Rocha may have captivated national audiences when she became the first lesbian cast member of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Orange County, but her success in the fitness field began long ago. Rocha, who owns The Art of Fitness in Laguna Beach, Calif., came to the U.S. from Brazil when she was only 23, a few dollars and a dream in her pocket. Today she says she’s living the American dream, becoming both a fitness guru and an LGBT rights advocate. In between promoting her apparel line, Jiinga Brasil, and her now famous workout DVD Brazilian Booty.