Last week on Bravo's Boy Meets Boy, the gay dating show concluded with James Getzlaff choosing Wes over straight imposter Franklin and boring bartender Brian, whose forehead is so damn wide, you could project drive-in movies on it. But the finale left us with nagging questions. After Boy wrapped shooting — which took only 10 days — could James and Wes really have a love match? Rumor has it Boy's bachelors have been seeing other boys since the show... And why weren't there more slutty hijinks on-screen, like on straight dating series? Here, James candidly tells his side of this unprecedented reality TV adventure.
TV Guide Online: You were not pleased to learn straight guys were hiding amongst your gay suitors.
James: (Takes a deep, pensive sigh.) The bad part was that one of the show's main objectives was completely different from what I signed on for: Straight guys fool the gay guy for money on TV. I hear lots of comments like, "Well, you went on a reality show, so you must expect lots of twists and turns and shocking things. They go for the lowest common denominator."
TVGO: True enough.
James: But it's Bravo, which is the network of classy, sophisticated, quality television. In our many meetings, I knew there would be surprises along the way, but they were always going to make me look good, and I was going to come out on top. That's how I was convinced to say yes. I never got the feeling it was going to be some shocking, low class Jerry Springer thing. It's not something I'm dwelling on, but definitely wasn't fun, and I wouldn't choose to do that again.
TVGO: Poor guy. You've taken a lot of slams.
James: People say, "You're not 100 percent on the show. You're kind of boring and don't really do much." You know what? It's easy to sit home on a couch and comment on someone's life, because those people aren't willing to put themselves out there.
TVGO: Word is, you and Wes are more "just friends" than a couple. True or false?
James: We'll see how it goes. Before the show finished airing, we couldn't be out in public together. You can't go to dinner or a movie, because people will talk . It's really annoying. I also live in L.A. and he's from San Diego, although he plans on moving up here. We're just letting some of the dust settle from all this craziness, especially the emotional rollercoaster for me.
TVGO: Did you really expect to find love on a reality show?
James: I'm a realist. Dating is a difficult thing, and the things I look for are hard to find. I didn't expect to go on the show and say, "Oh, I'm in love with you. True love, happily ever after." I don't put unrealistic expectations on things. But I did expect to meet fun, interesting people, and no matter what, I'd find someone good to go on the with. No matter what happens, Wes and I will go on the vacation to New Zealand together in March.
TVGO: Gossips say Wes has hooked up with other guys since the show ended. Has he? Would you care?
James: I don't know. I have no idea.
TVGO: You have no idea if he's been seeing other men? Or no idea how you'd feel about that?
James: All of it! (Laughs) All of it! It has been very tough on us. There's no set , and there's a possibility that things may not work out or they might. We'll see what happens. It's been hard for us to spend time together, when we can't do what normal people do.
TVGO: You kissed Darren on the show, and he's since hinted that you two dated after Boy finished shooting. Is that true?
James: No, we have not dated. But the guys from the show all hang out. This is a funny story: One night, we had drinks at Here Lounge — and I am going to venture to say that something was slipped into my drink and my roommate's drink. At one moment, we're laughing and having fun, and next thing I know, I'm blacking out. So did my roommate. Darren drove us home, and then, of course, held my head over the toilet while I threw up all night. I was sick for a couple of days. Darren took care of me, so I took him out to dinner to thank him. But I haven't done anything with him since then.
TVGO: So, no romance for you and Darren?
James: No.
TVGO: By the way, why didn't you ever mack on Franklin and the other straight guys to expose their deceptions?
James: We weren't allowed to do that in our contracts. I said to Andra that I could easily find out who's straight — just get right on them, make out and be way aggressive. That person would crack immediately. But then, of course, if they put that in the show, I'd look like a sleazy pig, which is so not the case.
TVGO: Still, it would've been fun to watch you turn the tables on the fakers!
James: There was a lot of pressure on me, being "the first gay reality TV dating show leading man," to make this show classy. To show whoever watched that gay people aren't all about hooking up. People love that on Paradise Hotel — they screw each other and swap partners all day. No one cares at all! But if you get two guys kissing on a gay show, the world's in uproar and the president's trying to pass an amendment to stop us from getting married. It's ridiculous.
I really feel for the guy. What they did was so unfair. I would have watched the show regardless.