Resurfaced clips of ‘My Husband’s Not Gay’ go viral – people can’t believe it was a real TV show
My Husband’s Not Gay has gone viral on TikTok due to its controversial content. (TLC)
A series of clips of old reality show My Husband’s Not Gay, about “same-sex attracted” Mormon guys married to women, have gone viral on TikTok, with people asking “how the hell did this ever get commissioned?”
TikToker Julian Hagins recently shared a series of clips of the 2015 TLC show, which follows the story of several Mormon opposite-sex couples where the male experiences SSA (same-sex attraction). Essentially, these are gay men who have married women because homosexuality is forbidden under Mormonism.
Julian giggles along to the footage while noting: “Everybody is in denial on this show. Why would they sign up for this show?”
In the show, several men open up about their sexuality. One states: “I’m definitely attracted to men.”
Another clip shows one of the wives saying she’s offended when asked if her husband is gay, while a third wife interrupts her husband’s explanation of his relationship with same-sex attraction to exclaim: “NOT gay, SSA.”
Hagins followed it up with another clip from the programme, titled “this is getting juicier and juicier.”
The clip shows one of the husbands saying that he and the guys are planning to go camping, and his wife is less than impressed, explaining, “when my husband goes on these overnight trips I get concerned. Anything can happen.”
A third clip focuses on a group of wives who are all married to men with “SSA”, who form a sort of support group for each other and talk about how much their husbands all love to go to the gym together. One also falsely claims that being gay is a “lifestyle choice.”
Commenters under the videos are, frankly, flabbergasted by the entire concept of the TV programme.
“How is this not an SNL (Saturday Night Live) sketch,” one commenter jokingly asked.
Another wrote: “That is actually very sad.”
What is My Husband’s Not Gay?
My Husband’s Not Gay is a one-hour reality TV show, which was filmed in Salt Lake City, Utah and aired in 2015.
The TLC special chronicled the experiences of four Mormon men who are only attracted to men but don’t identify as gay and don’t act on the feeling.
Jeff, Pret, Curtis, and Tom are the four men whose sexuality is at the core of the show.
Three of the men are married to a woman and the fourth is looking for a wife, but all of them are coming to terms with, and trying to explain, their “unconventional” relationships.
TLC claimed that the couples depicted in the special “reveal the decisions they have made and speak only for themselves.”
What does SSA mean?
SSA stands for same-sex attraction, a label that is sometimes used instead of gay.
SSA is often adopted by those within religious groups as they believe that the label “gay” is a loaded term that implies a queer lived experience.
According to Brothers Road, a non-profit, multi-faith, international fellowship: “To us, “gay” suggests an identity that most of us choose not to embrace and implies alignment with common gay ideologies with which we often disagree.”
Their logic states that someone who experiences gay attraction and feelings isn’t necessarily gay.
Instead, SSA “suggests an experience, not a permanent identity. It implies a set of feelings, not a way of life.”
The SSA term therefore is a word that is used to divide the self from sexual attraction and gay culture.
My Husband’s Not Gay controversy
Following the release of My Husband’s Not Gay, the show quickly drew criticism and became a controversial talking point.
Media monitoring organisation GLAAD released a now unavailable statement online following the show’s premiere.
“This show is downright irresponsible,” GLAAD’s president, Sarah Kate Ellis stated.
“No one can change who they love, and, more importantly, no one should have to.
By investing in this dangerous programming, TLC is putting countless young LGBTQ+ people in harm’s way.”
GLAAD is not the only group who called for TLC to pull the show.
132,118 people signed a petition – started by Josh Sanders, a gay Christian man – that tried to prevent the airing of My Husband’s Not Gay.
The petition’s description outlines that the show “promotes the false and dangerous idea that gay people can and should choose to be straight in order to be part of their faith communities.
“As a gay Christian man who’s seen first hand how this message can harm people, I am calling on TLC to cancel My Husband’s Not Gay and to stop telling America that LGBTQ+ people should lie to themselves and to their faith communities about who they are and who they love.
“TV viewers need to know the horrific consequences of trying to change who you are. Instead, TLC is presenting victims’ lives as entertainment, while sending the message that being gay is something that can and ought to be changed, or that you should reject your sexual orientation by marrying someone of the opposite sex.
This message is harmful to both LGBTQ+ people and communities of faith, and I call upon TLC to stop spreading such dangerous misinformation by cancelling My Husband’s Not Gay immediately.”
Despite the uproar, My Husband’s Not Gay was broadcast – hence the viral TikTok clips – and TLC released a statement that backed the show.
“TLC has long shared compelling stories about real people and different ways of life, without judgment,” the network stated.
“The individuals featured in this one-hour special reveal the decisions they have made, and speak only for themselves.”
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