Millie, a 22-year-old Virgin Island participant, came out as a lesbian to her co-stars and to the nation after previously identifying as bisexual. She chose to come out on camera because group workshops and daily intimacy helped her feel safe and see that other lesbian participants were present. She described earlier pressure to live heteronormatively, including expectations to marry and have children. She noted that having children as an LGBT person can involve a longer process and fees, which added to her struggle. After coming out, she felt a weight lifted, knowing she could have a future without needing to meet those expectations immediately.
"“I think from doing all the group workshops and getting to know these people, because everything's so intimate with each other, every day I was just like, 'There's other people here that are lesbian, and that's fine,'” she says. “So I was like, why not address it now in a safe environment and let me work through those issues and then just explain it? “I felt really good, because everyone's just so supportive.”"
"Millie explained on the show that she felt a pressure to go through life in a heteronormative way - get married, have kids, you know the drill - which made her struggle to come to terms with how she really felt. But now, she says, “there's a lot of pressure come off my shoulders”."
"“There was definitely that pressure of, you've got to be straight to have kids. And I know you can have kids as LGBT, but it's a longer process, fees are involved, stuff like that. “But I definitely feel a weight lifted off my shoulder, because I know one day I will, but I don't have to do it in the next three years.”"
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