Big Brother Season 16 has long been a landmark season for the game, as it popularized the modern strategy of play that has dominated the franchise since Derrick Levasseur's win. It was also a memorable season for the eclectic cast, which included Zach Rance and the brother of pop star Ariana Grande, Frankie Grande. The pair's flirtation and bromance during the show led to fans shipping "Zankie" as a couple, and now Zach has revealed that they did become more than friends after the show.
In a discussion about mental health and how it relates to sexual orientation and gender identity by the YouTube channel With Love, Alexa, Zach Rance talked about his relationship with Frankie Grande after Big Brother. Rance talked about where the experience went after the two exited the house and the questions he had with himself afterward.
I’ve been straight my entire life, I’ve only liked women. But on Big Brother, Frankie and I got super, super close. I fell in love with who he was as a person. Super funny, super smart. Good looking guy. As time went on, we got so close that I wasn’t really sure if I had feelings for him or not. You know, I’ve always been straight so it was never a thing [for me] to like guys. He was the first guy that I ever hooked up with. After that night, I was very unsure about the direction of my sexuality because I like women. And after we hooked up, I was very uncertain about what was my next move.
Per his comments, it does not seem like the connection with Frankie Grande went much further than their hookup after the show. It did lead Zach Rance to do some soul searching about his life going forward. As he said, he had only believed he was heterosexual prior to meeting Frankie Grande but wasn't so sure afterward. Rance said he wondered if he was gay, bisexual, or it was just a one-off thing that only applied to Frankie.
Now in the present, Zach Rance prefers not to put a label on who he is. Rance confirmed he has had at least one other "hook up" with a man since then, and talked about where the experience has brought him to this point.
We try not to label anything, you know, gender is super fluid. So it’s hard for me to say I’m straight. I’m not gay either. I just wanted to come out and say that and be transparent and come out and say [that] I am bisexual, even though I do lean more toward heterosexuality. But I just wanted to clear the air on that. … I want to inspire other people to — maybe not experiment, I don’t know if that’s the right word. But to just be more open-minded because you can fall in love with someone’s mind, you can fall in love with someone’s heart. … You don’t have to just be attracted to the way they look.
Zach Rance did not comment on where he and Frankie Grande are in the present, and Frankie has not reacted to the news yet. The two did have a history of appearing together quite frequently after the show, but it's unclear exactly where both of them stand today.
Big Brother Season 23 is on track for summer 2021, and all past seasons are available on CBS All Access. Continue to stick with CinemaBlend for more on the franchise, and for the latest happening in television and movies.
