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“Big Brother” and “The Challenge” alum Paulie Calafiore has come out as bisexual.
Calafiore is a cast member on “The Challenge: USA season 2,” which is currently airing two episodes a week on CBS and Paramount Plus. And during episode 3, he revealed that he had struggled to come to terms with his sexuality for years. But, through therapy, Calafiore learned to accept himself.
He spoke with USA Weekly on August 18, a day after the episode was released. And although Calafiore’s comments about his sexuality were vague on the show, he confirmed with the outlet that he’s bisexual.
As “Challenge” fans likely know, Calafiore’s been dating another of the franchise’s veterans, Cara Maria Sorbello, for five years. And according to him, she was nothing but supportive when he shared the news with her.
“We both are bisexual. We just get it,” Calafiore said. “I didn’t have to have those conversations like, ‘What do you mean [you’re bisexual]?’ It was just kind of understood. She understood.”
Paulie Calafiore Pinned His On-Screen Aggression on Bottling Up His Sexuality
Calafiore said he was able to “express [himself] a little more” during his college days. But once he left school, the former “Big Brother 18” houseguest said he hid his sexuality from the world, which led to him acting aggressively — something reality TV fans have seen on several occasions.
“When I got out of college and went into professional sports … I was like, ‘Alright, let me bottle this back up inside,” Calafiore said. “And then when I went on national television for the first time, I was like, ‘Let me definitely bottle this up inside.’ And by doing that, I kind of showed, like, that really aggressive athletic side of me.
“And I never got to also show the softer side of me, which I feel came from suppressing that again.”
Paulie Calafiore Is Happy That Fans Can Finally See His ‘Other Layers’
“USA 2” marked Calafiore’s return to “The Challenge.” He hadn’t laced up his running shoes on the reality competition show since 2019’s “War of the Worlds 2” when he placed second alongside his fellow Team USA castmates.
Calafiore has been notorious for getting into heated altercations with challengers, including with fellow “Big Brother” notable Josh Martinez and “Geordie Shore” star Kyle Christie. But, the Calafiore that was featured on “USA 2” was nowhere near the hot-headed competitor fans had come to know.
And Calafiore said being “true” to himself has helped bring him peace.
“I want people to understand other layers of me,” he continued. “I want people to understand me so that I [can] just be my true self and really just kind of let that shine through.
“No matter what really happens from a competitive standpoint from here on out, I just know that I’m staying true to myself. And that’s the only thing that I think we can do in life.”
Spoiler alert: the following paragraphs will include spoilers from August 17’s “USA 2.”
Unfortunately for Calafiore, his comeback was short-lived. At the end of episode 3, he found himself in the elimination round opposite another of his longtime “Challenge” rivals, John “Johnny Bananas” Devenanzio.
It was a hard-fought battle that saw both men holding their arms above their heads for over a half hour while standing on a melting block of ice. In the end, Johnny Bananas outlasted Calafiore, and the latter was officially the first male sent home on “USA 2.”
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