MTV alum Davis Mallory has revealed his new girlfriend, Rachel Vaughan, in a series of social media photos posted on Aug. 30.
The 43-year-old reality television personality captioned the carousel of photos with "It's crazy what love can do" and added "I love you" to Vaughan. The post marked his first public relationship update since announcing in 2025 that he no longer identified as gay.
Mallory first gained public attention on The Real World: Denver in 2007, where he came out as a gay man from a conservative Southern religious background. He later competed on three seasons of The Challenge, making his final appearance on the show in 2011.
In 2020, Mallory commemorated his time on television on Facebook alongside a clip from the show, writing that being back in Denver reminded him of being 22 and freshly coming out on MTV on National Coming Out Day.
Mallory's Religious Experience and Life Update
In 2025, the Nashville local, who works as a DJ and is the singer-songwriter behind "Baptized", shared a life update regarding his sexuality while speaking at the Arise House of Prayer and Worship in Hawaii.
In a video capturing his speech, Mallory explained his background and upbringing. "I was just raised in the church," he said. "My parents divorced when I was 10 years old, and honestly I didn't have a father figure."
Mallory recalled his time on television as a key part of his path to identifying as straight in 2024. "I lived a gay lifestyle for about 20 years. I was on a television show, The Real World, and I came out as a gay Christian," he explained. "But God really pulled me out of that lifestyle a year ago."
He went on to detail how a recurring nightmare affected his subconscious and spiritual perspective. "I would have a nightmare that my car was being broken into. I had a nightmare that I gave my title to someone else," he remarked. Mallory stated he believed God was showing him visual images of what sin was doing in his life, feeling that he was giving his identity to someone else while his car was sliding backwards.
Reality Television Stars Reflect on Coming Out
Mallory's public announcement is part of a broader landscape of reality television stars and celebrities sharing their personal experiences with sexuality and coming out.
The Bachelorette alum Gabby Windey came out during an August 2023 episode of The View, revealing she was dating comedian Robby Hoffman, whom she wed in January 2025. "I've been keeping it kind of private," she said in the episode, "because it is a bigger story and a bigger conversation because I'm dating a girl." Windey added, "I think it was always a whisper in me that just got louder and louder. I didn't really know to pay attention to it. When this happens there's some shame attached to it and I had to a little bit navigate through that shame; what is it, where is it coming from."
Actor Matt Bomer, known for White Collar, shares three children with his husband Simon Halls. Speaking to OUT Magazine about coming out to his conservative Christian family, Bomer said, "Telling your family is a huge, huge deal." He added, "I really view my life as divided between the time before I told my parents, and the time after. And the decisions I made, and the life I lived, before and after, are vastly different. It's night and day."
Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause, who began a relationship with Australian singer G Flip in 2022 before marrying them, emphasized personal fulfillment in an interview with E! News. "If someone truly loves you, your happiness should always come before their beliefs," Stause said. "Never conform to others ideas they have for your life. It's yours and you only get one."
Becca Tilley, an alum of The Bachelor, dated singer Hayley Kiyoko for four years before publicly coming out in June 2022. She told E! News that despite feeling apprehensive, she realized the moment was bigger than her personal fears. "I realized this is so much bigger than me and my relationship and my personal experience because if it helped anyone feel comfortable or brave to be comfortable with who they fall in love with, then that's way bigger than me and my fears and what I was scared of," Tilley said, adding, "It's very humbling to read comments like that and realize the significance of something as simple as falling in love and sharing that."
Musicians and Performers Share Their Journeys
Pop stars and recording artists have also detailed their evolving understandings of gender and sexuality.
Miley Cyrus came out as pansexual in October 2016, telling Variety, "My whole life, I didn't understand my own gender and my own sexuality." The "Flowers" singer noted, "I always hated the word 'bisexual,' because that's even putting me in a box. I don't ever think about someone being a boy or someone being a girl." Cyrus added, "Also, my nipple pasties and s--t never felt sexualized to me. My eyes started opening in the fifth or sixth grade. My first relationship in my life was with a chick."
Singer Chappell Roan, known for "Good Luck, Babe!", told Rolling Stone that her Midwest roots initially shaped her fears regarding flamboyantly gay people. "I was scared of flamboyantly gay people because I was taught that," Roan said. "[I realized] people hate flamboyantly gay people because it just exudes femininity, and people hate women. Just little things like that, you're like, 'Oh my God, this is just so f--ked.'" She added, "It took a lot of unlearning, and there's still things I'm still confused about, and [it's] why I feel so uncomfortable being gay sometimes. I don't get why this is such an issue for me. It shouldn't be, but something's just going on and I need to just accept that."
Reneé Rapp, star of Mean Girls, previously identified as bisexual before coming out as a lesbian on Saturday Night Live in January 2024. She told Billboard months later that surrounding herself with nonbinary, trans, and lesbian friends made her feel happy. "All of a sudden, I had these people around me who were either nonbinary people, trans friends, or lesbians," Rapp said, "and I was like, 'I feel so happy when I'm with you guys. And I also really want to call myself a lesbian when I'm around you.'"
Former Disney Channel star Dove Cameron recalled feeling nervous to publicly state her sexuality, telling Gay Times in May 2021, "I've hinted about my sexuality for years while being afraid to spell it out for everybody." After releasing a 2020 lyric video for "We Belong" depicting heterosexual couples, Cameron faced accusations of queerbaiting. "When the song came out, everybody got the idea that the song was a big LGBTQ+ anthem song and I found myself in this position where everyone thought I was queerbaiting," she explained. "I went on Instagram Live and said 'Guys, I really needed to explain something to you. Maybe I haven't said it, but I'm super queer. This is something I want to represent through my music because it's who I am.'"
Demi Lovato announced they identified as nonbinary in a 2021 Instagram post, initially adopting they/them pronouns before later returning to she/her pronouns. The "Heart Attack" singer wrote, "Every day we wake up, we are given another opportunity and chance to be who we want and wish to be. I've spent the majority of my life growing in front of all of you... you've seen the good, the bad, and everything in between. Not only has my life been a journey for myself, I was also living for those on the other side of the cameras." Lovato added, "Today is a day I'm so happy to share more of my life with you all - I am proud to let you know that I identify as non-binary and will officially be changing my pronouns to they/them moving forward. This has come after a lot of healing and self-reflective work. I'm still learning and coming into myself, and I don't claim to be an expert or a spokesperson. Sharing this with you now opens another level of vulnerability for me."
Troye Sivan came out to his family at age 15 and publicly via YouTube three years later. He told People in February 2022 that he wanted to control his own narrative before signing a record deal. "I was about to sign my record deal, and I really wanted to be in charge of how I came out," Sivan said. "I didn't want anyone to take that away from me. I wanted to start going out and going to gay clubs and meeting boys, and I wanted to write songs about love that were true and genuine."
Digital Content Creators and Hosts Offer Advice
Media personalities have used public platforms to share advice and push for greater acceptance.
Dance Moms alum JoJo Siwa came out in an Instagram story in 2021 at age 17. She told People in October 2023, "I came out when I was 17 but I didn't understand at the time what a big deal that was. I didn't understand why that was scary." Siwa added, "Of course there was a lot of positivity and love and acceptance but then there was a lot of negativity, and I did lose a lot. I didn't care, and I still don't care [about] the things I lost and the people that I lost and if I lost a chunk of fans...because it's who I am."
Former late-night host Amber Ruffin came out as queer on Instagram on the final day of Pride month in June 2024, wearing a tank top with the word "Queer" printed on it. "In what will come as a shock to exactly zero people, I'm using the last day of PRIDE to come out!" she wrote. "Be proud of who you are, little babies! I know I am! And I can't wait to be discriminated against for a new reason!!"
TikTok creator Chris Olsen, who was openly gay at an all-boys high school, told E! News in October 2022, "My identity will already be something that can be of controversy, depending on who the audience is. So one of my passive-active missions in having this platform is to try to break that down and bring normalcy to this identity."
Bravo host Andy Cohen, who came out during college, offered advice to others in an interview with E! News. "My advice would be, find one friend that you can tell," Cohen said. "All it takes is one friend that you know will be supportive. And that friend can be your island and just kind of branch out from there. It's always worse in your head than it's going to be."
