AE: Makes an interesting story, that's for sure.
RK: [laughs] Definitely! And the funny thing is, after I found out he was
escorting and doing porn again, the thing that broke our relationship wasn't
that. Rather, I was in school at the same time he was and he took my essays
from a class we were taking and copied it and turned it in as his own. So I
said, "I'll handle the porn, I'll handle the escorting, but when it comes
to plagiarism, that's where I draw the line." [laughs] So I kicked him to
the curb.
AE: How old were when you came out?
RK: I had a difficult coming out process. I didn't do it by choice. My
mother caught me kissing my first boyfriend in my backyard when I was 16 years
old.
AE: What was the reaction of your friends and family?
RK: It was World War III. My step-dad didn't really care because his
brother is gay, so he'd been through that, but my mom, even though she knew gay
people, it was devastating to her. When she caught us, my heart stopped. I
jumped up and tried to explain to her that it was a phase and I was bisexual
and everything was going to be fine. You know, trying to calm her down.
It took a lot of time and
energy on all of our parts over the years to reconnect again. I don't think my
mom will ever be 100% okay with my being gay, but I think after so many years
of knowing, we've kind of come to that point where we know time is too short to
be worried about those types of things. We're just enjoying our relationship with
each other.
AE: Have you actually gone into the "house" yet where you'll
be living with the other models?
RK: No, we haven't. We are sequestered at an undisclosed location and we're
just being prepped to go into the house tomorrow and begin production.
AE: Have you been told what to expect?
RK: We're still being prepped and processed to know what's going to happen
and what's going to go down, but really, right now, we're just taking time to
prepare ourselves for being in the house with the other contestants for up to three
months — which is a really exciting opportunity and there's a great competition
ahead. Bravo has done a great job of outlining the rules and making sure it's
going to be a fair and fun competition, not only for the contestants involved,
but also so it'll be an enjoyable show for America to watch.
AE: During casting, did you ever feel as if you were up against
Nicholas for the "gay guy" spot on the show?
RK: You know, I never looked at it as an issue because I look at myself as
a man who happens to be gay, not a "gay man." For the longest time, I
struggled with my sexual orientation. As you can imagine, you define yourself
by your sexual orientation because it's different from everyone else, and I
think society presses that on you as well. But at this moment in my life, I'm not really focused on my orientation, but rather everything else I've been
working on with my experience in the last ten years in the industry. I was
basing my ability to move forward on all those other factors.
AE: Do you see yourself as a role model by being on the show?
RK: You know, I think to be on something like this, to be a supermodel, you
should see yourself as a super role model. Any time you're given an opportunity
like this to be before the public on national television you should be acting
in ways that other people would want to see you as and you would want to
promote. So most definitely.
AE: What sets you apart from the other male models that will get
viewers to vote for you?
RK: Like I said in my video tape audition, I'm bringing my entire self to
the table. What America
is going to see is really going to be what they get. I've learned not to put up
a front, but just be yourself, have a good time, and this is going to be an
incredible adventure whether I win the show or not. I'm just looking forward to
all the people we're going to meet, all the travel, and the potential to learn
and grow. This is an industry I've loved for so very long, I'll do anything I
can to take myself to the next level.
AE: Do you think being out will be a plus or minus on the show?
RK: I think for me, I'd rather be true to myself in every aspect. That's
why I was openly out as I auditioned for this. I think any time you hide a part
of yourself that comes across in one way or another. People's perceptions are
their own realities, so if they feel I'm hiding something from them, they might
look at that in a poor light. I'd rather be open and honest all the way
through, and I pray that America
sees that as a good thing.
