Model Olivia Ponton comes out as bisexual, says she’s ‘thoroughly obsessed’ with girlfriend
Olivia Ponton has come out as bisexual. (Instagram)
Model and social media star Olivia Ponton has come out as bisexual, saying she is “proud to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community”.
Ponton, 18, who has more than three million followers on Instagram, came out in an interview with Teen Vogue on 2 June, the second day of Pride Month.
Fans have suspected that Olivia Ponton might be queer ever since she started posting cosy videos of herself and Kaila Novak on TikTok in March.
The social media star has finally put speculation to bed, confirming that she has been dating Novak since January.
In her wide-ranging interview, Ponton said she never even considered the possibility that she might be a member of the LGBT+ community while growing up in Naples, Florida.
It wasn’t until she moved to Los Angeles that she began to question her sexuality.
“I met my girlfriend on TikTok and became thoroughly obsessed with her,” Ponton said, revealing that she worked up the courage to DM Novak.
At that time, Ponton was still trying to figure out if she was sexually attracted to Novak or if she just admired her beauty.
The pair struck up a conversation on social media and started dating secretly in January. Shortly afterwards, Ponton told a friend for the first time that she was bisexual.
Olivia Ponton was inspired to come out by JoJo Siwa
However, Ponton said she struggled with stereotypes about how queer women should present. Because she wears “a lot of makeup” and is “very feminine”, she feared that she wouldn’t be accepted as a queer woman.
She started following a wide range of queer TikTok creators, who helped her realise that LGBT+ people don’t have to conform to any particular aesthetic to be accepted.
Ponton also struggled with the biphobic notion that she would suddenly become attracted to everyone around her.
“I don’t want anyone to ever feel uncomfortable that I’m looking at them that way because I’m just not,” Ponton said. “I’m not attracted to every man, I’m not attracted to every woman I’ve seen.”
She also opened up about the pain she and her girlfriend faced when they were accused of faking their relationship on social media earlier this year.
Elsewhere in the interview, Ponton revealed that she was inspired to come out publicly after JoJo Siwa revealed that she is a member of the LGBT+ community earlier this year.
“I saw that and thought ‘Wow, that’s really amazing for young children now because she’s such a big role model,” Ponton said.
“And she’s really become almost a role model for me to look up to as well.”
