Happy Pride Month! To all of our LGBTQ+ readers both near and far, we are thankful that you are here. We see you, we hear you, and we stand with you, always. We are also thankful for all of these Bravo LGBTQ+ stars, because representation matters, now more than ever.
Andy Cohen
Naturally, we first have to celebrate Bravo’s daddy Andy Cohen. Andy is the first out and proud gay male to ever host a late-night talk show. On his Watch What Happens Live platform, Andy’s always spoken up on the need for community and safety within the LGBTQ+ community. In the tragic times and the best of times, Andy’s lent his voice and his support to Bravo, and for that, Andy gets our Pride Month Mazel.
Truly, the world may never know how many lives Andy’s saved. Simply because he chose to show up and show out for his fellow LGBTQ+ persons.
Captain Sandy Yawn and Leah Shafer
Captain Sandy Yawn is currently the only LGBTQ+ captain on Bravo. Truly, her time spent on Below Deck Mediterranean has helped to empower legions of women and LGBTQ+ persons across multiple antiquated fields. Speaking of women, Captain Sandy just married her gospel-singing longtime love Leah Shafer. In fact, she chose to propose to Leah on-air, further using her platform to help her scream it from the flybridge, that love is love. Periodt.
Luckily, we will all get to relive this powerful moment together soon, as Below Deck Med Season 9 continues to play out on Bravo.
Reza Farahan and Adam Neely
On Shahs of Sunset Season 5, Reza Farahan and Adam Neely were wed. From Reza’s filmed proposal, all the way down to his wedding ceremony with Adam, Reza chose to hide nothing. Surely, this positively impacted countless, Bravo-watching lives in turn. Today, these two are still going strong, and to them, we raise our whiskey and ginger ale drinks, saying Happy Pride Month, and also, get back on our screens.
Taylor Armstrong
Taylor Armstrong came out as bisexual during Real Housewives of Orange County Season 17, Episode 4. Here, she also revealed that she’d been in a five-years-long relationship with a woman, just prior to her first marriage. Beautifully, her RHOC costars, and the viewers at home, equally surrounded Taylor with love and support, further proving that queer female representation on the Real Housewives series was, and shall always be, needed and important.
Amrit Kapai and Nicholas Kouchoukos
Family Karma’s stars Amrit Kapai and Nicholas Kouchoukos are an interracial gay couple that came out, got married, and held open dialogues on raising children together, all on air. Their wedding was the first televised gay Indian wedding, and their LGBTQ+ visibility has no doubt impacted many. Especially those who reside with them in the State of Florida, where the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” went into effort right as these two began their surrogacy journey. Thankfully, they are not letting politics stand in the way of their dreams.
For that, I scream “GAY” from my recliner in Florida, while calmly emphasizing “Happy Pride Month” to Amrit and Nicholas.
Julia Lemigova
Watching Julia Lemigova learn to sing Opera for her tennis pro wife Martina Navratilova on Real Housewives of Miami Season 6 was moving AF. Sure, some of our movements were in an “oh no” fashion, as not all notes were reached, but I digress. More importantly, Julia is the first LGBTQ+ woman to ever be cast on the Real Housewives franchise. In turn, her marriage to Martina is also a much-needed sight on RHOM, and for that, we say “cheers.”
Fraser Olender
Not only is Fraser Olender the first gay male Chief Steward on Below Deck, but he’s also the first male to even have this leadership position at all on any of the series in the BD franchise. In Season 11, he came to play, breaking his own roles by making out with a hot male charter guest. No worries though, as he got permission from Captain Kerry Titheradge first. Happy Pride Month Fraser, we see you.
Ace, Kat, and Max Dubrow
Heather Dubrow is one of my favorite mothers on Bravo. She joined the cast of RHOC in 2012, where we met all four of her children. Three have since come forward, identifying as LGBTQ+. On this, Heather is their biggest cheerleader.
Max Dubrow came out as bisexual in June 2020. One year later, Kat Dubrow came out as a lesbian. Finally, in March of 2023, Heather shared that her youngest child had come out as transgender, and now goes by the name of Ace Dubrow. In speaking to People, Heather noted that she is nothing but proud of her now-grown babies and that she’s beyond excited to watch them all “fly and soar” down the paths that lie ahead.
Jenna Lyons
When Bravo rebooted Real Housewives of New York, we got Jenna Lyons. She’s the first openly gay Real Housewives cast member for this city, and she knows how important her representation on RHONY is. On The View, she made mention of this, saying “It’s deeply important,” because seeing someone be successful while living their life as an openly gay person, helps to alleviate many fears. Cheers, Jenna.
TELL US – HAVE YOU ENJOYED WATCHING THESE INSPIRING LGBTQ+ STORIES ON BRAVO? CLEARLY, OTHER LGBTQ+ STARS ALSO EXIST(ED) ON-AIR, SO ARE THERE ANY OTHER STARS OR STORIES THAT HAVE MADE AN IMPACT ON HOW YOU CELEBRATE PRIDE MONTH?