‘Big Brother’ Cast Member Comes Out, Hopes To Inspire People

Former Big Brother contestant Zach Rance recently opened up about his sexuality in a forum for “Love, Alexa” titled “Mental Health Event: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.” He hopes his story will inspire others to be more open-minded. Here is what Zach Rance had to say about his time on Big Brother, his relationship with Frankie Grande, and his bisexuality.

Rance and Grande Had a Sexual Relationship Outside of the Show

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Rance didn’t come right out and confirm his bisexuality until the very end of the mental health forum. But he decided to just lay it all out there in the hopes that he will inspire others. He said that while he thought he’d been straight “[his] entire life,” things changed when he met Frankie Grande on Big Brother 16.

“On Big Brother, Frankie and I got super, super close and I fell in love with who he was as a person — super funny, super smart, good-looking guy, and as time went on, we got so close that I wasn’t really sure if I had feelings for him or not. I’ve always been straight, so it wasn’t a thing to like guys,” said Rance.

He continued, “But after the show happened, him and I did have a relationship that was more than just friends. He was the first guy that I ever hooked up with. After that night, I was very unsure about the direction of my sexuality … I was very uncertain about what’s my next move.”

Rance went on to say that he was really questioning things and wondered if it was just Grande that he was interested in or if there were other men.

He later ended up hooking up with a photographer after a photoshoot and that threw him for a loop because now there were two guys he had hooked up with.

Rance said he was thinking, “OK, where am I at right now?” and he finally decided, “It’s hard for me to just say I’m straight. I’m not gay either. But I just wanted to come out and say that and be transparent and come out and say I am bisexual, even though I do lean more towards heterosexuality. I just wanted to clear the air on that.”

“I want to inspire other people to — maybe not experiment, that’s not the right word but just be more open-minded because you can fall in love with someone’s mind and you can fall in love with someone’s heart and you can have a sexual relationship with those people because you’re attracted to their mind, you’re attracted to their heart,” said Rance.

Rance Is An Advocate For Mental Health Awareness and Fighting Stigmas

Rance is a founding member of the Mental Health Collection, which is a community that wants “to change mental health through daily reminders and affirmations,” according to their website.

He recently opened up about how his “fame” from reality TV really went to his head and put him in a terrible mental state.

“Looking back on this now, this was one of the worst times of my life,” wrote Rance on Instagram. “I didn’t know who I was and it was bulls*** social media articles and Wikipedia pages that caused my depression and identity issues … I take full responsibility for my awful choices and the people I hurt and turned my back on.

“However, it was this time in my life and the challenges that I faced after Big Brother that lead me to my true purpose of helping people w their mental health and change their lives.”

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