Say hello to the cast of E!’s brand new bisexual dating show
The Bi Life is the brand new bisexual dating show you've been waiting for. Hosted by drag queen royalty and reality TV veteran Courtney Act, this must-see series follows a group of bi+ singletons living and loving in a villa in Barcelona. Think Love Island meets First Dates with a dash of RuPaul. We met the stars to find out more.
Carmen
“I wanted to go on the show to inspire people to come out. I get stereotyped for looking ‘too straight’ and ‘being greedy’. You get it a lot with people you’re dating. If I’m into you, I’m into you. It’s more about the person, not the parts, I say. My family was really understanding. When I came out, my mum was like, ‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!’”
Leonnie
“This show is very educational. I went out my first night back and bumped into a gay guy. I told him I was bi and he was like, ‘You’re just greedy, that’s not even a sexuality’. I said, ‘I’ve seen an advert for The Bi Life. I think you should watch it’.”
Michael
“I’m an international swimmer. I’m so wrapped up in that world, I’ve never been on any dates. The show was a safety net for me to go out on controlled dates and be around people that understood me. This is the first UK bisexual dating show – we are that change.”
Irene
"If I was in a relationship, I wouldn’t tell people straight away. Pre-show I would have worried more. 'When is the right time to say I’m bi? How do I approach it? How do I look bi so they guess it before I have to tell them?' Post-show I’m like, 'It will come up and I’ll be happy to say it'. Spending time with so many bisexual people you’re like, 'This is normal! We are who we are!'"
Kyle
“I’m from Wales so it’s not the done thing to come out. It was really hard to accept who I was. This show is so needed right now, to put out there that it’s fine to be bisexual. If I’d had this when I was growing up, I would have been so much more comfortable with admitting who I am.”
Mariella
“Growing up, I didn’t have anyone to look up to when it came to understanding my sexuality. I think this show will really help a lot of people with understanding who they are. When I tell people I’m bisexual, they tend to think there’s more of a chance of cheating, which is totally silly because if you’re loyal to someone it doesn’t matter your sexuality!”
Matt
“Everyone on the show had their own message or story to tell. There were some people who had never been on a date in their life, or had only ever been with one boy and one girl, or who had been with loads of each. It’s not just a reality show. It’s there to help people in the community.”
Daisie
“If you look at a normal show on TV, you usually see a size 6 to 10. You don’t see people my size that are curvaceous. It’s nice to see that we are real people, we are bisexual, and we don’t need to be a size 8 model. I’ve dated a guy before and he’s been like, ‘Oh, you’re with me, that means you’re straight’. No. I’m still bisexual. It’s never gonna change.”
Ryan
“Reality television doesn’t always reflect reality. This show is very inclusive of the fact that there are bisexual people. I felt really proud to be a part of it. It is a step in the right direction. There should be a conversation that we are people, we do exist.”
The Bi Life premieres at 9pm on Thursday 25 October on E! UK & Ireland.
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