Big Brother alum Zach Rance has revealed he is bisexual and opened up about his path to self-discovery, which included a hookup with former Big Brother castmate Frankie Grande after they filmed the show.
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Zach shared his sexuality and personal story during a Tuesday video interview with the Mental Health Collection and With Love, Alexa, according to Us Weekly.
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"I am bisexual, even though I do lean more toward heterosexuality," Zach announced.
As Big Brother fans probably recall, Zach, 30, and Frankie, 37, both competed on Big Brother's sixteenth season in 2014 and became best friends with an arguably flirtatious dynamic.
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"I've been straight my entire life, I've only liked women," said Zach, who was a 23-year-old recent college graduate from Palm Beach, FL, when he appeared on the CBS reality series.
"But on Big Brother, Frankie and I got super, super close. I fell in love with who he was as a person. Super funny, super smart. Good looking guy."
Zach said his friendship continued with Frankie once the pair left the house and then their type of connection became a little blurry to him.
"As time went on, we got so close that I wasn't really sure if I had feelings for him or not. You know, I've always been straight so it was never a thing [for me] to like guys. But after the show happened, him and I did have a relationship," Frankie revealed.
Zach said he and Frankie pursued "a relationship that was more than just friends," which was a confusing time in Zach's life.
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"He was the first guy that I ever hooked up with. And after that night, I was very unsure about the direction of my sexuality because I like women parts," Zach admitted.
"And after we hooked up, I was very uncertain about what was my next move."
Zach apparently wondered whether he'd be interested in other men or just had a deep bond with Frankie, and so he "tried" to sort those feelings out.
"I was like, 'Wait a second. Is it just because Frankie is someone who I'm really close with?'" Zach explained.
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Zach therefore had an intimate encounter with another man he had met at a photo shoot, but the experience didn't exactly give the Big Brother alum the answers he was looking for.
"The more I thought about being with a guy... you know, making out is one thing. But doing more than making out with a guy is something that I just don't want to do and I'd never tried it," Zach said.
"But I just want to come out and say that I enjoyed hooking up with Frankie and the other guy I hooked up with, clearly I enjoyed it."
Zach continued, "We try not to label anything, you know, gender is super fluid. So it's hard for me to just say I'm straight. I'm not gay either."
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Zach is pleased to be "transparent" with fans about the fact he's bisexual to hopefully set a positive example for others, and he said he's now comfortable in his own skin and identity.
"I just wanted to come out and say that and be transparent... I just wanted to clear the air on that," Zach said, adding that he wants to "inspire" others to explore their sexuality.
"I want others to, maybe not experiment, I don't know if that's the right word. But to just be more open-minded because you can fall in love with someone's mind, you can fall in love with someone's heart."
"You don't have to just be attracted to the way they look," Zach concluded.
Zach was the eighth houseguest evicted from Big Brother's sixteenth season, so he finished the competition in ninth place. Frankie ultimately finished in fifth place.
After Zach got evicted from the Big Brother house, he competed against fellow evictees Nicole Franzel, Jocasta Odom and Hayden Voss for a chance to win a spot back in the game and resume competing for the $500,000 grand prize.
Nicole, however, ended up winning the challenge dubbed "BB Boxing."
Zach now works as a realtor in South Florida as well as a life coach.
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