The Advocate chats with Derek Chavez, the openly gay cast member on MTV’s “The Real World: Cancun”

In the 90s, I’d eagerly await each new season of MTV’s The Real World to see who the gay cast member would be and was rarely disappointed. From Norm in New York to Pedro in San Francisco to Dan in Miami to Danny in New Orleans and Chris in Chicago.

That’s pretty much when I kicked the habit – the Chicago season. I’m just too long in the tooth to invest the time and emotion! Anyway, there’s a gay cast member on Real World: Cancun and The Advocate snagged an interview. He is, of course, a total cutie.

Meet Derek Chavez. Here is some of the interview and remember, the new season kicks off tonight!

How did your coming out on the show compare to coming out back home?
Coming out back in high school, in a town of 2,000 people who all know your business, it’s not the easiest time. It was senior year, and I started seeing a guy who was completely open. I was still on the down-low — still in the closet. I had a girlfriend who was one of my best friends. I couldn’t tell her then because it was the beginning of the school year, and it [would have been] awful for her.

I tried to break it off with that guy. I said, “Dude, I can’t do this.” He said, “Well, if you’re not going to tell anybody, then I’m going to tell everybody.” So I thought, If I don’t say anything then this guy’s going to destroy it for me and will make my life, for the rest of senior year, [difficult]. So I told my good friends, and the thing that scared me the most was that I might lose those friends. And being from a small town, there aren’t that many people. Turns out, they were OK with it. I didn’t end up telling my girlfriend until I was leaving for college and we had to break up. She was hurt because I lied to her, but she forgave me. She said, “I want you to live your life happily as yourself rather than unhappy being somebody you’re not.”

How did your family react?
I’m really close with my grandmother, and it was kind of hard to tell her. She didn’t really know until my freshman year in college. I told her by bringing my ex-boyfriend around. I didn’t really tell her. I just tried to give her the hint.

But it was kind of easy for my mom because of my older brother’s situation. My uncle, who I call my brother and is my best friend, is gay too. When I was little, she told me when he came out, “And you better not be a little homo either.” I know she knew it, but it was funny. I took her to meet my ex, and she liked him. She said, “Where do you guys live?” So I showed her. She was surprised that there was only one bed. I said, “Yeah, we share a bed.” She said, “Oh, OK,” and the idea set into her. She’s going to be uncomfortable seeing me kiss guys because she doesn’t want to be around it, but she’s OK with the idea.

Is she going to see a lot of that on the show?
Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes. Yes. Yes. I already warned her. I said, “Brace yourself for what’s going to happen. It’s not that bad, but it’s not something that you will want to see.”