“9-1-1: Lone Star” actor Ronen Rubinstein has turned bisexual with the support of his girlfriend.
“I completely identify as bisexual,” Rubinstein told Variety. “I literally got goosebumps when I said that. It feels so good to talk about it, it feels so good to finally feel comfortable with it. “
Rubinstein, 27, immediately found support from 36-year-old girlfriend Jessica Parker Kennedy, who insisted that he embrace his true self.
“She’s actually one of the first people to call me out respectfully about it,” Rubinstein said of Kennedy. ‘She says,’ Is there anything we need to talk about? ‘And I said,’ Maybe. ‘ I didn’t know how that conversation would turn out. And it probably went as well as it can go.
“She absolutely encouraged me to talk about it, just to live my truth,” he added. “She says, ‘I love you the way you are, love yourself and people will love you for who you are and for yourself.’ ”
The “No Escape” star, who was born in Israel and moved to Staten Island when he was five, said he grew up where – without explicitly mentioning either – he had taken into account his decision to stay in the closet. .
“The most important thing to me is, where I’m from, people like me and people who have identified themselves as bisexual or gay or as part of the community – you’re just not welcome. It’s as brutally fair as that, ”he said. Either you’ve been dealing with insane amounts of blasphemy, like the F word was thrown around all the time, or you’d be turned on your head if you were gay.
“So there was definitely a fear of embracing how I felt,” he continued. “I was definitely more aware of it in high school. I was aware of my feelings and how I started to look at men, but I couldn’t talk to anyone about it. “
Rubinstein cited fans of the “9-1-1” character, TK Stand, and his in-show friend, Carlos Reyes – the pair are referred to as “Tarlos” – as particularly supportive of his revelation.
“The fans, especially the Tarlos fans, it’s one of the biggest reasons why I finally felt safe and comfortable talking about it and finally embracing it and being happy with it.”