'I Live My Life as a Gay Man' - Trans 'I Kissed a Boy' Star Opens Up

One of the contestants on the new season of "I Kissed a Boy" is a transgender man, Lars Fellows, who opened up in a recent interview about starring on the Dannii Monogue-hosted show and coming out to his fellow contestants.

Season 2 premiered last month. The new episodes of "I Kissed a Boy" see a group of young gay men gathered at an Italian masseria, a complex of buildings centered around what used to be a farmhouse. Such onetime estates now serve as hotels in Southern Italy. The contestants' goal is to seek love among their fellow masseria residents, starting with an assigned potential love match. The calculated chemistry has the potential to be instantaneously intense: Each assigned pair share a kiss before introducing themselves.

"The 23-year-old took a courageous leap during episode 1, coming out as a trans man to his fellow contestants and speaking candidly about transitioning," Metro reported.

In an exclusive interview with the outlet, Fellows confessed that "I was a bit unsure at first" about participating in the show.

"I wasn't sure how it would be received; they hadn't had a trans person on the show before, and I didn't know what that might look like for me, so I did have a bit of hesitancy about it."

Indeed, Metro noted, Fellows is breaking new ground as the first transgender contestant on a reality dating show in the UK. It's a significant, and potentially nerve-wracking, moment. "But," Fellows declared, "just because I was scared, that doesn't mean I shouldn't do it."

The 23-year-old reality star went on to say that "after talking with producers and casting, it eased my mind about it. It felt like I could really trust them with my story."

And not just his own personal story. "It was an opportunity for representation and to represent myself and the community, and that was very personal to me," Fellows related. "There are not a lot of trans men in the media, and I want to allow for more of that and open the conversation for more trans men."

"I live my life as a gay man," Fellows added, "and I thought, 'Why not put myself in that situation to see what happens?'"

From there he had to determine how forthcoming he wanted to be, and when, with the other young men on the show.

"Exploring both romantic and platonic connections on the show has allowed Lars to communicate that trans people are, quite simply, 'normal people' looking to find friends and lovers like anyone else," Metro relayed, before going on to say that Fellows "hails the show as having 'fast-tracked' his levels of self-acceptance and 'affirmed and validated' his identity."

Fellows' decision to present himself authentically is especially courageous given the anti-trans climate of today's politics – not to mention the toxic cesspool that certain sectors of social media have become.

"Unfortunately, I did anticipate a reaction, both good and bad, and with the trolling and negative response, it's not great," Fellows acknowledged. "But for me, there's nothing a random person on the internet can say that's gonna undermine who I am. At the end of the day, I've worked really hard to get where I am, and these comments don't mean anything to me."

Offsetting the transphobic trolling, though, there has also been an upwelling of support, which Fellows described as "amazing and overwhelming."

"It's reminded me of why I went on the show," he said, "but it's also a reminder of the fact that it's so mental for me to be the first. It's a positive thing, and I can only be myself, but hopefully others will now feel like they can put themselves out there too."

Fellows is not the only "I Kissed a Boy" case member this season to undertake a courageous journey in authenticity; Metro noted that "fellow cast member Adam [has been] praised for opening up about his HIV diagnosis."

"His chat with the other boys left viewers in tears as he recounted his brush with death," Metro recounted, "and called to end the stigma around living with the virus."

Season 2 of "I Kissed a Boy" is now airing in Britain on BBC Three. Season 1 of "I Kissed a Boy," as well as Season 1 of its sister show "I Kissed a Girl" both aired in the U.S. on Hulu last year.