When Victoria Zito, star Victoria Zito of ‘Real Girlfriends in Paris’, came out bisexual when the cameras rolled for the new Bravo reality show late last year, she immediately felt ‘relief’.
“I have no choice but to embrace it now. It’s actually really nice not to have that choice. Now the world knows,” she told Vidak For Congress in an exclusive interview ahead of Monday night’s premiere.
“At the same time, it is also a sense of relief. It’s a sense of relief because I know I might even have a bigger support system than if I hadn’t had the show,” adds Zito. “There’s no turning back.”
In the inaugural episode, the 26-year-old tells her castmates at a Friendsgiving party that she was exploring a romantic connection with a woman. The reveal was met with fervent enthusiasm – and a massive group hug – from Anya Firestone, Emily Gorelik, Adja Toure and longtime friend Margaux Lignel.
“I didn’t expect that—and that’s nothing against them. It has more to do with my own upbringing and my own journey and my own exposure to things,” the American expat, born and raised in Sunnyvale, Texas, tells a conservative family that she says “mocked” gays. .
Understandably, this conditioning scared Zito into skeptical reactions.
“I thought there would be more questions like, ‘Are you sure?’ Or, ‘Why?’” she admits. “But to have so much love from my castmates felt amazing. It’s very important to find that support group where you really feel like you can be your most authentic self.
Zito says Lignel, 26 — who was aware of her bisexuality ahead of the cast dinner — provided crucial support that made her coming-out journey less difficult to navigate.
“It certainly wasn’t easy. I’m really super grateful that I got to film with one of my best friends, Margaux,” she explains. “She really held my hand all season.”
Zito, a small-town girl long encouraged by her family to stick to the status quo, married a man at a young age. The pair eventually moved to the City of Light in 2017 after Zito received a scholarship to the prestigious Parsons Paris art school, where she studied fashion design.
But when Zito discovered her husband’s infidelity, she filed for divorce — a liberating decision that helped her step into the LGBTQIA+ community.
“After my divorce, I really decided that I was done doing things for other people and living to seek the approval of others. What is life if you don’t live it for yourself?” she says. “Everything I do now is really for me and I’m very happy about that.”
Zito, who revealed on “RGIP” that she should not come to her family yet because she was “concerned about the judgment,” tells Vidak For Congress that her mother now knows.
“I think it’s really exciting that people see how that unfolds,” she teases. “It was a very unexpected reaction. I’ll say that.”
Zito is also happy for fans to see her wading deeper into the dating pool with Emmelle – the British beauty she met through a dating app – on the series.
“She’s amazing,” she says of her crush, with whom she felt a deep bond that exceeded just “sexual attraction.”
“I can’t wait for everyone to see how it turns out,” says Chloe Colette’s designer. “She’s really hot.”
Whether or not she finds everlasting love with Emmelle, Zito is proud to be a queer representation channel – but hopes to inspire all viewers by giving them a 360-degree look at this exciting chapter of her to live.
“When I signed up for this, I decided that I would be an open book with my career, my friendships, my family and my love life. And at the end of the day, if this gets to one person and inspires one person to live to follow their authentic selves or their real, authentic dream, then it’s all worth it to me,” she says.
“I want the gay community — as well as everyone else — to know that it doesn’t matter what your upbringing is, it doesn’t matter what your environment is. The most important thing is that you live your authentic self and until you do that it is impossible to be happy.”
“Real Girlfriends in Paris” will premiere with two episodes on Monday, September 5 at 9:15 p.m. ET on Bravo.