
WWW.OUT.COM
From competition to couple: 'Destination X' stars come out, announce they're dating
Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald knew they were in for the adventure of a lifetime when they joined the NBC reality competition show Destination X. But they didn't know they'd also find love, the pair tells Out in an exclusive interview.Destination X, hosted by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, features a group of contestants who are transported around Europe while blindfolded. They have to use clues to guess where they are, and the person whose guess is farthest from the correct answer is eliminated.Even though the game was every person for themself, Bross and Fitzgerald teamed up on the show's first challenge after bonding over both living in Texas. However, when Fitzgerald won an advantage and almost saved fellow contestant Biggy instead of Bross, the two lost trust in each other. By the time Fitzgerald was eliminated last week and Bross this week, they were back in an alliance, but were nothing more than friends. Destination X stars Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald smiling at each other on the show.Michael Krosny/NBCIn her intro on the show, Bross says she came into the game hoping to find Mr. Right. She was always looking for a husband, but she never got past a certain point when dating men.She had gone on dates with two girls she "kind of had crushes on," but when they weren't compatible, she assumed she must be straight."But then I had so many relationships with guys where I just didn't feel that we could relate on an intellectual or emotional level. It almost was like, something's off here," she says. "And I only ever really wanted to be in relationships with men who I constantly needed to get approval from. It was like I was constantly working to be their idea of what a good girlfriend should be.""And yeah, every guy I met I did think was my husband," she says. "And maybe it was so easy to let go of all my husbands because I was going to have a wife."For a while, Ally did think she might've found Mr. Right when she began a showmance with contestant Shayne Cureton, and the two even continued dating for a short time after the show. Destination X stars Ally Bross and Shayne Cureton.Andrea Pattaro/NBCAfter being on Destination X, Bross and Fitzgerald started hanging out simply because they lived eight minutes from each other in Austin, Texas."I had found her Destination X water bottle on the bus, and I nabbed it. And I was like, 'I'm going to bring it back to her.' So I brought it back to her, and then we started hanging out a lot," Bross says.That first hangout included spending time eating crab rangoon and watching lesbian singer Chappell Roan's performances. Fitzgerald jokes that the sapphic pop "kind of put the seeds in" for their blossoming romance.Bross didn't fully realize her feelings for Fitzgerald until the two went on a trip together for a YouTube series they started together called Where the F Are We?. The series, like Destination X, features the pair taking each other on blindfolded journeys where they must guess their location. Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald on dates.Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald (PROVIDED)On a trip to Finland, Bross says, her feelings for Fitzgerald solidified."While we were in Finland, we were staying in this tiny little cabin that had just these two little twin beds. And I don't know if it's in the Finnish air or something, but I just suddenly had such a big crush on Mack," she says. "I was feeling like, 'Wait, this is way bigger than what it was before.' Before I knew I really wanted Mack to like me, I really wanted her around all the time. I was sad when she would leave my house. But it was really in Finland where I realized I had feelings for her."Bross reveals that it was a drunk airplane ride where those feelings were revealed.The two were separately filming content for their YouTube videos when she filmed herself "basically admitting my feelings for her" on camera.Bross had planned not to say anything, but when the pair started going through their videos together, her confession came up."I was so exposed," Bross says. "She watched it, and I was like, 'Oh my God, it's so embarrassing."Before dating Bross, Fitzgerald always identified as asexual and didn't believe in love. It wasn't until she thought about her feelings for Bross that she changed her mind. Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald kissing and at a state fair.[Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald] (PROVIDED)"Once that was put on my radar, then I kind of had to ask myself what all of those little butterfly feelings were and kind of confront that," Fitzgerald says. "Then it was like, 'Oh, this is what people are talking about, this is the butterflies.'""And then it was all of a sudden all I could think about was Ally and all I wanted to do was talk to Ally," she says.However, before they did anything, Bross had to break up with Cureton. She flew to Indiana to break up with him, then went to her grandparents' for Thanksgiving before returning to Austin and Fitzgerald.As soon as she did, Fitzgerald kissed her ("it was very smooth, I'll say," she brags)."And then I felt like everything inside of me exploded in a way that had never happened when I'd ever kissed anybody," Fitzgerald says. "And so then I was just like, 'Holy shit, this is what people are talking about. Fireworks and butterflies and... I don't know.' I still can't stop thinking about it even though we're together."Fitzgerald says that for most of her life, she thought everybody was "making up being in love." She even said that "coming home and having somebody be there" was her "absolute worst nightmare.""And then it's just like after even just one kiss, really, I was like, 'Oh, I was wrong.' Love is real. It's really good. It feels amazing. I don't want her to ever leave." Once they started dating, they immersed themselves in sapphic culture, watching things like The L Word, Blue is the Warmest Color, and The Ultimatum: Queer Love. They bought carabiners in every color and love to share clothes.They also took part in another long-held lesbian tradition: Uhauling."I kissed her and never left her apartment," Fitzgerald jokes."Yes, she never left. And now I live in her house," Bross adds. Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald kissing and hugging in front of a forest.[Amanda Kioko] (PROVIDED)Bross says that coming out to her family and friends was "emotional," but happened quickly for her.She has a gay great uncle who has been with his husband since before she was born, so Bross knew her extended family would be accepting, but she was still nervous."I'm the only granddaughter, and I didn't really know what everyone was going to say," she reveals. "My family has met a plethora of boyfriends that I said were going to be my husband. And they would always be so shocked when I would break up with a really nice one."Bross came out to her family over a long text. Her father said he knew how open-minded she is, and he wasn't surprised. Her mother was more surprised, but "not in a negative way," Bross says."All of my friends were like, 'This makes sense. Duh, you're bi or queer or pan or whatever. We've all known this about you.' I was like, 'Really? Because I didn't know that. This is news to me!""Coming out in general, no matter how you think people are going to react to it, it's scary. It feels so personal," Bross says. "And I was still coming to terms with the reality of it myself and facing a lot of comphet and things that I didn't really know how to explain until I did a bunch of research. Like, why am I feeling like this, you know? So it was even scary just internally. Once I say this to my family, this is real, right? And the whole world tells you to be one way. And yeah, it's scary to think that maybe you're a different way. But now it's the most beautiful thing in the world."Fitzgerald says that before this relationship, she never felt like she "was really attracted to anybody else." She'd get crushes on guys, but when they started dating, she'd just want to be best friends."And then girls, I never felt attracted to, which is why I landed on asexual, somewhere around that spectrum," she says. "But then this is obviously not asexual, and so I understand that there's a spectrum.""I don't really care to figure it out because I know how I feel currently," she adds. "And hopefully this is forever, so it's not like I'm going to need to figure that out. But yeah, I'm happy with just being in love with Ally and that being the whole story."While Bross and Fitzgerald haven't publicly discussed their relationship before, some fans online have begun to suspect they might be more than just friends. Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald looking lovingly at each other.[Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald] (PROVIDED)Fitzgerald says it feels "cool" to see people rooting for them, even if it's just "12 people on Reddit." It encourages her to see that the fans "are already accepting and supportive and excited about this."Bross understands where the fans are coming from. As soon as she realized her feelings for Fitzgerald, she was starving for sapphic representation, including "real-life examples of people who have maybe experienced what I feel like I'm experiencing.""So when we have young girls who are in high school DMing us on Instagram like, 'Is it true? Are you a girl kisser? Are you and Mack together?' It does make me really happy. Because even just the last eight months, anytime there's any mention of a queer couple, we're like, 'We got to watch that. We're watching that. I'm tuned in."Bross says that being part of the queer community has "been really liberating."Next up, the couple is going on a trip to Europe. When they get back, they're looking forward to attending Austin Pride and visiting some of their Destination X friends. They also have trips to Canada, Tokyo, and all around Asia planned.They'd love to go on another reality show, this time as a couple. "I have this fantasy pipe dream in my head that we could both go on Traitors at the same time," Bross says. "There was a couple (Marcus Jordan and Larsa Pippen on Season 2), so come on, NBC, I know you're listening!"
0 Comments
0 Shares
45 Views
0 Reviews