The second season of FBoy Island Australia is well and truly underway, and this season has surely delivered its fair share of cringe-worthy and just downright concerning f-boy action (don’t even get us started on Joe’s Andrew Tate comments).
Aside from the stereotypical f-boy behaviour, this season has also served audiences with plenty of surprises, such as Dart’s cello skills and most recently, the debut of the series’ first gay contestant.
In episode five of the latest season, contestants Nicole, Ally, and Krystal joined host Abbie Chatfield for a good old-fashioned social media stalk of the remaining boys on the island. After making their way through a seemingly endless feed of *interesting* content, the four women landed on contestant Nathan’s social media and, after looking further into his TikTok profile, the group inadvertently uncovered hints regarding his sexuality.
While his content may have shared his humorous commentary about his experiences in the LGBTQIA+ dating scene, Nicole, Ally, and Krystal were visibly confused by his participation in the show, with Nicole seeking to understand what his motivations were for striking up a relationship if he had no intention of finding love.
“Look, I have no problem dating someone bisexual. Have I got an issue with queerbaiting? Sure,” Nicole told the cameras, adding, I’m just really confused about Nathan’s socials. Something about them is just not quite right. I need to figure out what his intentions are here because otherwise, see ya.”
After striking up an open dialogue, Nathan told Nicole, “Social media is a second home for me… I take a lot of videos as a joke, especially on TikTok.”
Seeking to understand his point of view, Nicole asked if “TikTok was your way of expressing those sides of yourself, or are you saying to me right now that you’re 100% straight?” to which Nathan responded, “Yes, I am.”
Despite not telling the whole story in the moment, Nathan later opened up on his sexuality – sharing during a beach date with Nicole that he had joined the competition as an f-boy competing to take home the $50,000 prize.
While he may not have wanted to pursue a relationship with Nicole, Nathan shared that he believed he would still be an asset on the island – offering to work as a “mole” to uncover the identity of the season’s nice guys and f-boys.
With his intentions out in the open, Nicole placed Nathan up for elimination, sharing, “There are certain things about you and I that I’m not sure I can reconcile.” Despite his f-boy admission, Nicole opted to keep Nathan in the competition.
“As all the other boys had plans to lie or twist stories to make their way through the competition and stay longer, I knew I needed a backup plan before entering the villa, in case my cover was blown. My only way to stay in was to help the girls out,” Nathan told news.com.au following the episode.
While Nathan’s involvement in the dating series may have come as a surprise to the contestants, it also came as a surprise to him.
“I was approached by one of the producers on TikTok or Instagram. I definitely didn’t apply for the show,” he told Yahoo Lifestyle, adding, “I would never see myself with a girl, but to be the elephant in the room and play some twists along the way, it’s an experience and a half.”
“There was a lot of doubt, especially being the first gay man on a straight dating show. But I just thought life’s too short, have some fun, put yourself out there a bit, and enjoy what’s to come.”
While some viewers on social media have questioned why Nathan would want to participate in the show, many have also targeted their criticism towards those who sought to cast him – leading some to question whether producers were aware they had cast a homosexual man for a heterosexual dating show.
“I’m not open on social media, on Instagram especially, about my sexuality so if it did come about, it was like a big relief for me… I’m there for obviously not the right reasons, but I was asked to be a part of the show to cause a bit of drama, a bit of controversy. I’m not there to hurt anyone, ” Nathan told Chattr.
Reflecting on his decision to join the dating series as a gay man, Nathan shared to news.com.au, “I don’t openly show my sexuality in my day job as a tradie, so that was not a hard task coming onto the show… My game plan was to win a girl over just like any other guy on the show and make it to the end.”
“At the end of the day, like the other f-boys on the show, we’re here to win, and this season, in particular, proves that f-boys come in all shapes, sizes and, in my case, sexualities.”
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