It's been 16 years since Dave Graham won hearts with his megawatt smile and endearing honesty. And a lot has changed for the self-proclaimed "token gay cowboy" since his TV debut on the sixth season of Big Brother Australia in 2006.
"Growing up gay in the bush within an extremely conservative and homophobic family and community there were really only two options to being my true self," Graham, 42, tells WHO. "Move as far away as possible or kill ourselves," he adds.
But appearing on reality TV gave Graham a third option, allowing him to "come out" to his housemates and the nation and be free to be himself.
"Big Brother is completely responsible for the life I have now as I couldn't see any other way I could come out," he explains. "[Back then] I had one goal, which was to show everyone that being gay meant I wasn't there to hurt or harm anyone. We just wanted to live normal lives."
This story is from the May 16, 2022 edition of WHO.
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This story is from the May 16, 2022 edition of WHO.
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