When “Real Girlfriends in Paris” star Victoria Zito came out as bisexual as cameras rolled for the new Bravo reality show late last year, she felt immediate “relief.”
“I don’t have any other choice but to embrace it now. It’s actually a really beautiful thing not having that choice. Now the world knows,” she tells Page Six in an exclusive interview ahead of Monday night’s premiere.
“At the same time, it’s also a sense of relief. It’s a sense of relief because I know that I might even have a greater support system than I would have had not doing the show,” Zito elaborates. “There’s no turning back.”
The inaugural episode sees the 26-year-old tell her castmates during a Friendsgiving celebration that she was exploring a romantic connection with a woman. The revelation was met with ardent enthusiasm — and a giant group hug — from Anya Firestone, Emily Gorelik, Adja Toure and longtime pal Margaux Lignel.
“I wasn’t expecting that — and that’s nothing against them. It has more to do with my own upbringing and my own journey and my own exposure to things,” says the American expat, born and raised in Sunnyvale, Texas, to a conservative family that she says “used to make fun of” gay people.
Understandably, this conditioning left Zito fearful of skeptical reactions.
“I thought there’d be more questions like, ‘Are you sure?’ Or, ‘Why?’” she admits. “But to have so much love from my castmates felt amazing. It’s really important to find that support group where you really feel like you can be your most authentic self.”
Zito says Lignel, 27 — who knew about her bisexuality prior to the cast dinner — offered crucial support that made her coming out journey less difficult to navigate, knowing it would eventually be broadcast.
“It definitely was not easy. I really am super thankful that I got to film with one of my best friends, Margaux,” she explains. “She was really holding my hand throughout the whole season.”
Zito, a small-town girl long encouraged by her parents to stick to the status quo, married a man at a young age. The couple eventually moved to the City of Light in 2017 after Zito scored a scholarship to the prestigious art school Parsons Paris, where she studied fashion design.
But once Zito discovered her spouse’s infidelity, she filed for divorce — a liberating decision that helped her accept her identity within the LGBTQIA+ community.
“After getting divorced, I really decided I’m done doing things for other people and living to seek other people’s approvals. What is life if you’re not living it for yourself?” she says. “Everything I’m doing now is really for me and I’m really happy about that.”
Zito, who divulged on “RGIP” that she had yet to come out to her family as she was “worried of the judgment,” tells Page Six that her mother now knows.
“I’m really excited for people to see how that unfolds,” she teases. “It was a very unexpected response. I will say that.”
Zito is also thrilled for fans to see her wade deeper into the dating pool with Emmelle — the British beauty she met through a dating app — on the series.
“She’s amazing,” she says of her crush, with whom she felt a deep connection that transcended mere “sexual attraction.”
“I can’t wait for everyone to see how it plays out,” the Chloe Colette designer adds, further gushing, “She’s really hot.”
No matter what happens with Emmelle, Zito is proud to be a conduit for queer representation — but hopes to inspire all viewers by giving them a 360-degree look at this exhilarating chapter of her life.
“When I signed up for this, I decided that I was going to be an open book with my career, my friendships, my family and my love life. And at the end of the day, if this lands with one person and inspires one person to live as their authentic selves or follow out their real, authentic dream, then it’s all worth it to me,” she says.
“I want the queer community — but also anyone as well — to know that it doesn’t matter your upbringing, it doesn’t matter your surroundings. The most important part is that you’re living your authentic self and until you’re doing that, it’s impossible to be happy.”
“Real Girlfriends in Paris” premieres with two episodes Monday, Sept. 5, at 9:15 pm ET on Bravo.