"Project Runway"'s Ricky: more than just a sob story.

AE: What were your thoughts when Chris March came back to the show, after being eliminated — and now he’s in the top five and just showed at Bryant Park?
RL: Two things: I expected someone to come back when Jack left, and I thought naturally it would be the last person who was voted off. But also when Chris came back, I was just happy for him. And he was a good friend and also my roommate, so it was nice to someone to share things with. So it was good.

AE: This season of Project Runway is pretty darn gay. Of all of the guys, there was only one straight one, Kevin. Does all that gay energy work well? Does it play a role in how people get along?
RL: Of course. I think that the dynamics of gay men… We’re not just flat; there are different facets to every single person. One gay man is not going to be the same as the next, and each person has a different personality. So, I think the gay thing made it easier for us all to be natural with each other.

But at the same time, some people are bitchy and some people are catty, and those are the kind of things that came out — that’s just part of our lifestyle. But there are so many sides to our personalities, so it allowed for a fuller atmosphere. Who knows what Kevin thought of the whole thing, the poor guy.

Kevin Christiana

AE: You have a boyfriend. How did he feel watching the show? Did you guys watch together?
RL: Yeah, actually, we had a couple of good friends come to the house every Wednesday. We’ll watch the show and make dinner and have drinks. It’s fun to watch other people’s perspective, and have them see what happened, and then see how it’s all put together, and see the storylines unfold. It was fun to watch knowing what I know. So my boyfriend had a great time with the whole thing.

Of course, when it was tough for me, it was tough for him. So it was nice to have a shoulder there, and have someone to be there and say, “Hey, to me you’re just my Ricky, and that’s it.” It was good. And after ten years, whatever happens he’s gonna be around.

AE: What does he do?
RL: He’s a schoolteacher. He teaches in Queens.

AE: That sounds a lot more stable than those of us in the media or fashion. RL: Yeah, we’re very black and white. I do my thing, I’m very different than he is and I think that’s the only thing that has allowed us to be together as long as we have been. If we were too similar, I know we wouldn’t have lasted as long as we have.

AE: There aren’t that may gay people of color, or gay Latinos on television. Did you feel like you were carrying a torch or representing somehow?
RL: Of course I did. For me, the biggest part of my journey in the beginning was about, “Okay, America is going to see me.” They’re going to see this Mexican guy, and I just felt a big responsibility to show people that you can come from nothing and you can do something. And whether I’m still on the show or not, you can still continue to strive and do what it is you dream of doing.

As a kid, I remember my Mom — I’d be sketching and drawing and doing all of these arty things, and it was frowned upon. It was like, “That’s fine and dandy, but you’re going to be working someday and we want you to be a doctor.”

There were these stable careers that I was supposed to follow, and when you try to follow your heart or follow your bliss, it gets muddled up with the whole culture thing and the whole Latino thing and the whole machismo thing. So those were my battles. So with the show I wanted to be out there and say you can still be who you are, you can still be Latino and say something. And it’s OK if you’re creative. And for me, that was big.

And I’m happy to say that win, lose or whatever I feel like I did something positive. For me, that was the most important thing.

AE: And your family, your siblings, your parents — did they watch? What kind of feedback did you get from them?
RL: Yeah, it was crazy because I come from a large family, and when you have such a large family — it’s kind of like the cast on the show. You have different personalities, different people get along, some people don’t. But for the first time in a very long time, it felt like everyone was united in something, and it was beautiful to know that my family was together, and every week they’d hop houses to watch and root for me.

I kind of wished I’d been in California to experience it with them, because it was wonderful to hear their comments. One of my brothers called me last night and said, “You inspired me.” And that was really special, because my brothers were really kind of — that was a tough part of my life, as a gay man.