If you thought the drama that happened on Big Brother was significant, wait until you hear about the twists and turns Zach Rance’s life took after his stint on the show ended.
Zach was a contestant on the 16th season of the show, which aired in the U.S. in 2014. Due to Zach’s zany persona that exuded the frat energy of his University of Florida alma mater, he quickly became a fan-favorite contestant. Despite his entire run being characterized by various alliances and betrayals, he was nonetheless a top-three America’s Favorite Houseguest contestant but ultimately lost to Donny Thompson. In the end, Derrick Levasseur became victorious in the overall competition of the show.
One point of speculation from fans was Zach’s close friendship with another contestant, the Broadway actor and singer Frankie Grande. The two seemed so inseparable that some wondered if there was not an underlying backbone of romance propping up the companionship, despite Frankie later betraying Zach in the course of the show. That betrayal would later prove to not be a deal breaker for Frankie and Zach’s relationship after the show ended.
Frankie, the brother of pop singer Ariana Grande, continued hanging out with Zach long after the cameras stopped rolling. In fact, the two crossed paths at a Halloween party at Ariana’s house, Zach later recalled. It was at that party that Zach discovered an aspect of his personality that was hidden from himself until that moment.
Zach, who is now a life coach, ended up hooking up with Frankie at the party, confirming many fan theories about the underlying romantic tension present in the pair’s relationship. Zach explained that the incident made him question himself, he told US Weekly in 2020.
“I woke up the next day with, like, a heavy heart. I was like, ‘What the [heck] did I just do?’ And then I was like, ‘Wait a second, no, like, maybe I’m gay,’” Zach told the publication.
After some understandable mental health struggles, Zach eventually accepted the fact that he is bisexual. As he explained: “I prefer women, but this is where I’m at. I’m, like, 85 percent straight.”
At first, Zach figured his third-base hookup in Frankie’s closet was a one-off fluke. However, he said after becoming intimate with another man, a photographer, he finally accepted his sexuality. Zach explained that part of his hesitancy for self-acceptance may have been due to his background coming from a frat bro culture in his youth, but since now he is more mature, it is the perfect time for coming out.
“As a 23-year-old frat star from the U.S., if any of my friends knew I hooked up with a guy, it would be blasphemy. But now, at 30 years old, as someone who has seen a little bit more of life, I don’t really care what my college friends think of me, and if my colleagues and my employees and my business partners are gonna not want to do business with me because of my sexual orientation. That’s something I want to know now instead of later.”
Even though coming out inundated Zach’s Instagram inbox with messages of support and gratitude from others going through similar issues, it was not all sunshine and roses in the months following his Big Brother departure. In fact, Zach said he was in a dark place and struggled with mental health issues and drug abuse. Not helping matters was Zach’s self-admittedly inflated ego from becoming an overnight celebrity and gaining hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram.
“Everything came crashing down, especially because of my addiction to coke and drugs. I was just going to LIV in Miami every single night, getting tables and just drinking and doing blow until 5 a.m. […] And I did that for, like, six months. And this was right after the Frankie thing.”
Though Frankie has yet to publicly confirm or deny the hookup, Zach said they are still in contact to this day — but not in a romantic capacity.
Gratefully, despite the temporary glamor of becoming a reality TV star going to his head at one point, Zach has since “learned from it” and claims to be “super humble and mindful and spiritual and healthy.” Through this experience, he has taken to helping others who went through a similar hard time, including other reality TV stars who are “crashing hard” and need support.