Interview with Ronnie Kroell and Ben DiChiara

AE: Ronnie, in the reunion show, you said those initial genuine romantic feelings had dissipated, but if Ben had been willing, would you really have gone there even though he is married?
RK: [laughs] I think I'm going to let Ben field that question.
BD: Um, I think that's a negative right there. [laughs] The thing is, I don't have a problem with Ronnie's sexuality or anything like that, so I was joking around because that's what I do with my buddies. I'll joke around with them and things like that, when you're comfortable with somebody you know and that you're friends with. That's pretty much what it was.

Yeah, I don't think the thought ever crossed my mind. I mean we had fun in like the photo shoots and stuff, like with the video lookbook for Marithé + Girbaud, it was just having fun and goofing around. No, never. I don't think I would ever cross that line.

AE: Bravo really played up your bromance with Ronnie. Ben, have you had the chance to talk to your wife about it? How has she responded?
BD: My wife knows that Ronnie and I are just friends. It's weird because a lot of people wouldn't imagine a jail guard and a gay guy being good friends, but we were. I'm comfortable with who I am and Ronnie's comfortable with who he is, and we're comfortable with each other. We know the limitations and we know what's real and what's not real. Bravo can portray it any way they want to. They portrayed a lot of things the way they wanted to. My wife's fine with it. She likes Ronnie. It is what it is.

AE: What about other folks – friends, family, co-workers?
BD: No, I haven't spoken to anybody yet. [laughs] But I spoke to my dad, and it was pretty much just "Oh, we're proud of you, and miss you, and can't wait for you to get home, and stuff like that."

Ronnie with mother, Charlene (left) & Ben with wife, April

AE: Ben, you’re obviously sexy to a lot of women, which probably isn’t that big a surprise to you, but how does it feel knowing so many men find you sexy and were probably voting to keep you on the show?
BD: It was a good thing to me. Like I said in one of my quotes, I guess it's a good thing that a gay guy thinks I'm cute. They're picky, right? I don't know. It's a good thing that I have a diverse fan base, and it's not just one genre of people. It's not a certain age group or a certain gender. It's everything and that's really cool. And I think it's cool that I broke some stereotypes, which I think helped with that. So yeah, I'm thankful for it, and the gay community's a strong community, and they're good people.

AE: And you, Ronnie, are definitely a sex symbol for gay men. How does that feel?
RK: [laughs] It's still a little awkward. I went out last night and had people come up and say, "I've been watching the show." It's an incredible feeling to know that every Thursday, people have been tuning in to the show just to watch our progress and see what we're doing and support us. Just to be able to follow my dream and have this opportunity, and have so many people just supporting us, to have that fan base, it's unlike anything I would have ever imagined.

If you'd asked me a couple months ago if I'd be in this position I would have just laughed at you, but I'm flattered and I just hope I can continue in my career and people will continue to support me in everything that I'm doing. Who knows what's around the next corner for me, but I'm ready to see what opportunities present themselves.