Victoria Zito is saying oui to living her truth.
Zito, one of the stars of Bravo's newest reality series Real Girlfriends in Paris, is opening up about her sexuality after going through a messy divorce from her ex-husband. As fans will see on the show's Sept. 5 premiere, Zito comes out publicly as bisexual to her co-stars, a decision she called "really hard" to make since she comes from a conservative family in Texas.
"I think that [divorce] happening in Paris made me develop a sense of f--k it," she exclusively told E! News of coming out. "This is my life and this whole new chapter of my life, especially since we divorced, is about living my most authentic self and I feel like I couldn't do that without just being open and honest. It was extremely, extremely hard for me."
Luckily, Zito had the full support of her Bravo co-stars. "It makes me emotional thinking about the responses that I got from my expat family in Paris," she continued. "I'm very thankful I got to film with one of my best friends Margaux. She had known this about me for a while and I don't think she even realized how big of a deal it was until she saw me actually coming out to two other people. The support and the reaction that I got—again it still brings tears my eyes."
Zito says some of her family members still don't know she's bisexual, something they'll obviously find out when Real Girlfriends in Paris premieres.
"I think that's probably what's the hardest to deal with until the show airs because I'm over here in my head like, ‘What are they gonna think? What are they gonna do? What are they gonna say?'" the fashion designer admitted. "I got some amazing advice from some of my Bravo elders like, 'You just have to be you and do you.' Some of [my family] still don't know and I think that the opinions that I can assume that they'll have are probably none of my business."
As for which fellow Bravolebrity supported Zito on her reality TV coming out journey?
"It's so funny, one of my largest support systems I've had since I was 17, and before she even did a Bravo show, is Kary Brittingham from The Real Housewives of Dallas," she revealed. "She became family to me and I'm actually wearing one and put her necklaces now. I met her when I was 17. I was working three jobs, I was double majoring at community college and she was like, ‘Victoria, you're gonna be a fashion designer. You're gonna do good things,' and I'm like, ‘You think so? I hope so, I'll do whatever it takes. This is my dream, this is my goal.'"
She added, "Then she obviously went on to Real Housewives of Dallas and it's been amazing to be able to pick up the phone and call her anytime I'm like having a panic attack like, ‘What if this comes out and what are they gonna say?' and she's like, ‘Victoria, all it's all good. You're fine.'"
Real Girlfriends in Paris premieres Monday, Sept. 5, at 9:15 p.m. with two back-to-back episodes on Bravo.
(E! and Bravo are both part of the NBCUniversal family)