'My Husband's Not Gay' Reality Show Faces Backlash
The TV show follows Mormons who are married to women, but also attracted to men
— -- A new reality show featuring men who say they are attracted to men but do not identify themselves as gay is stirring up real-life controversy as thousands have signed a petition to stop the show.
“My Husband’s Not Gay” features what its network, TLC, calls “unconventional Mormon marriages.” Of the men featured in the show who are married, they are shown alongside their wives, who know about their husbands’ preferences and try to make their marriages work.
“I was office mates with one of my best friends and I said, ‘He told me he’s gay,’” one of the wives, Tanya, told ABC News, of her husband, Jeff. "And she goes, ‘I told you that, twice.'"
Jeff explains his orientation by comparing it to one’s preference for a certain type of food.
“You could say I’m oriented towards doughnuts and if I was being true to myself, I would eat doughnuts a lot more than I eat doughnuts,” Jeff said. “But am I miserable? Am I lonely? Am I denying myself because I don’t eat doughnuts as I might like to eat doughnuts? I’m not.”
A second couple featured on the show, Pret and Megan, met in Sunday School 17 years ago and has been married for nearly nine years.
“Every time I got to the core of who I am, I knew that I wanted to be married to a woman,” Pret told ABC News. “I knew that I wanted children and I wanted to be a father and I want to be called ‘Daddy’ when I come home.”
The show has drawn rebukes from GLAAD, the LGBT rights organization whose CEO called the show's planned debut “irresponsible.”
“I think it’s irresponsible to be airing a show with the content that gives the idea that sexual orientation is a choice,” GLAAD President and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis told ABC News. "That a discredited and old idea.”
A Change.org petition calling for TLC to cancel the show has drawn over 70,000 signatures as of this morning.
TLC told ABC News in a statement that the stars of the one-hour special, “reveal the decisions they have made and speak only for themselves.”
“My Husband’s Not Gay” airs at 10 p.m. on Jan. 11.