The Challenge: Final Reckoning‘s Natalie Negrotti took a brave leap on the July 17 episode of the series when she revealed that she is pansexual, meaning she doesn’t limit herself to dating based on gender, biological sex or gender identity. The reality star explained that one of the reasons she decided to come out was because her co-star Kayleigh Morris outed her on Instagram when she incorrectly identified her as a lesbian. “So, I’m pansexual, and I’m OK with that now,” Natalie said during her confessional for the show. “Kayleigh outed me on social media. I wasn’t ready, and I haven’t even got the opportunity to tell my whole family. She just did it in a really malicious way, and that’s not fair to me. But I know that I’ll never forget and I’ll never be her friend.” Eek. Natalie, who sometimes goes by Natalia, also took to Twitter to explain her reasoning for deciding to come out now. “I came out with my story to share my truth with those who are battling the same thing I did. Do not throw hate at anyone for their actions. I wanted to use my platform to educate people who are not informed. Let’s spread love and education not hate,” she tweeted.
Natalie’s confession may have caught fans off guard considering she’s been romantically linked to co-star Johnny Bananas which in turn could cause the assumption that she’s straight but now that she’s come clean about her status, she no longer has to keep her guard up. She also took to Instagram to share her feelings about letting others know who she really is. “Accepting myself as I was designed led me to the day I stopped trying to fit into a world that never really fit with me and gave me the chance to blossom into the person I am today #selflove,” she wrote on the social media site.
During an interview with US Weekly, Natalie further revealed that being a pansexual has been a 28 year battle for her and Kayleigh outing her was not the proper way she wanted the public to be told. “I wanted to set a standard because you can’t do that,” she said in the interview. “There are so many teenagers and kids that commit suicide every year because they get outed inappropriately. She [Kayleigh] took something that was mine and made it her own, and she did it really in a nasty way. Outing someone is not right and I want to set that standard … I wanted to come out in the right way, I wanted to turn it into something positive so that viewers that are going through the same thing that I’ve gone through don’t have to go through it for 28 years.” Natalie also said that she’s currently in a relationship with a woman who is her “biggest supporter”. “She’s a really great fit for me, and she’s really special to me,” she admitted.
I came out with my story to share my truth with those who are battling the same thing I did. Do not throw hate at anyone for their actions. I wanted to use my platform to educate people who are not informed. Let’s spread love and education not hate
— Natalie Negrotti (@NataliaNegrotti) July 18, 2018
We’re so happy that Natalie feels good about who she is. We wish her all the happiness she can get!