Paulie Calafiore of ‘Big Brother’ and ‘The Challenge’ Comes Out As Bisexual

August 27, 2023
TOMMY

If you've never seen MTV's The Challenge, the premise is simple: people compete against each other in challenges of varying styles and difficulty levels and face elimination challenges until a winner is declared. And last week, one of its stars just faced one of his biggest challenges yet: coming out publicly.

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A post shared by Paulie Calafiore (@paulcalafiore_)

Paulie Calafiore, who recently starred as one of the contestants on the show's most recent season, The Challenge: USA, came out as bisexual in an interview with GLAAD. He decided to come out publicly because on one of the most recent episodes, the fitness pro alluded to being attracted to both men and women. Calafiore told GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos in a follow-up interview that the decision to come out publicly "felt good" and explained why it was so important for him to come out given his work as an athlete and fitness pro.

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A post shared by Paulie Calafiore (@paulcalafiore_)

"For me, this was kind of like breaking down like... all of the aspects of what like I guess would be like toxic masculinity of like feeling like you need to like dominate, dominate, dominate... and actually being able to open up." He added, "You can dominate... but dominate through your performance."

Calafiore said that because he didn't have a ton of friends going into the show, confiding in the producers was sometimes an easier way to open up. But he also noted just how important it was to have the support of his girlfriend, photographer, and fellow The Challenge contestant, Cara Maria Sorbello, who is also a member of the LGBTQ+ family. She posted extra support to the couple's shared IG account.

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But the coming out process hasn't been 100% smooth for Calafiore, in no small part due to the often rigid outlooks on sexuality even within our own community. "This isn’t a competition of ‘who’s actually representing this?’," he said. "It’s like, no, everything is together. It’s not just L, and then G, it’s LGBTQI+ community. … So, as a community, what can we do to be better and support all of our brothers and sisters?"

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A post shared by Paulie Calafiore (@paulcalafiore_)

More and more visibility is one of the most important ways we can keep fighting for our existence, so congrats to Paulie Calafiore for being that visibility to millions of Queer people everywhere. Everyone comes out in different ways and at different times, so congrats on coming out in the way that best suits you! There are no doubt young bi folks around the world who just watched Calafiore and thought, "Hey... he reminds me of me." We need more of that. Welcome to the fam, Paulie.