Welcome to the family, Paulie Calafiore!
In 2016, Calafiore became a reality TV star with his appearance on Big Brother 18. He then went on to compete on 2018’s The Challenge: Final Reckoning, 2018’s The Challenge: War of the Worlds, 2019’s The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2, and 2023’s The Challenge: USA season two.
Calafiore came out as bisexual in a recent episode of The Challenge: USA. During an interview with Us Weekly, the reality TV star further explained his experiences prior to coming out:
“When I went on national television for the first time, I was like, ‘Let me definitely bottle this up inside.’ And by doing that, I kind of showed, like, that really aggressive athletic side of me. And I never got to also show the softer side of me, which I feel came from suppressing that again.”
In the interview, Calafiore also credited Big Brother alum Frankie Grande and fitness influencer Shaun T as people who helped him process his feelings and gather the courage to come out.
“They really kind of helped me along the way,” he revealed. “They knew way before everybody else.”
Calafiore also spoke to GLAAD about his coming-out experience. “I almost felt guilty that it’s taken me this long [to come out],” Calafiore said. “And I really had to change my perspective and be like, ‘Well, you know there might be other people that are going through this exact same thing. Maybe this is what they needed to hear and what they needed to see in order to do it themselves.’”
Congratulations to Paulie Calafiore on this huge milestone!
The Challenge: USA season two airs Thursdays and Sundays on CBS.