Massimo Campana & Erik Asla/Pottle Productions Inc.While he may be vying for the title of America's Next Top Model, Nyle DiMarco has already unveiled a secret label of his own.
The frontrunner of Tyra Bank's longtime reality modeling competition show, for which he is also the first deaf contestant, recently revealed that when it comes to matters of the heart, his preferences are in a state of shift.
During a Q&A session with fans over Twitter, the brunette hunk was asked whether he is into boys or girls. He answered with one short word: fluid.
For those who are not as well-versed in terminology around the LGBT spectrum, DiMarco also included a link to an Everyday Feminism article defining the term.
"These people are either always attracted to more than one gender or feel that their attraction may shift depending on factors like time, intimacy with certain partners, changes in hormone levels, and so forth," the author wrote.
The tweet has certainly allowed gay fans to fawn over the 26-year-old Maryland native, who was visited by his childhood friend, Brittany, during a recent episode. Viewers originally speculated that she was his ex-girlfriend.
DiMarco is certainly not the first ANTM contestant to challenge the norm in terms of sexual identification while partaking in the competition. In the show's 22 cycles, numerous contestants have come out as gay, lesbian, and transgender, including Cycle 5's Kim Stolz, who was the first contestant in the show's history to identify as a lesbian during the competition.
Isis King, a contestant during the show's 11th season, was the first transgender female contestant to grace Bank's televised photoshoots.
While we certainly wish him luck as he moves on to the final stages of the competition, it's clear he has already drastically changed the game for future contestants who do not fit the typical mold—and that in itself is a victory.