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We're taking a little break to record new episodes and we want to hear from you! Is there someone you want to hear from in the next season of Come Out Wherever You Are? Slide into our DMs on Instagram @comeoutwhereveryou are or email us at comeouttous@gmail.com. Chat soon 💙 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when everyone in your life totally supports you coming out? It never occurred to comedian and content creator, Samantha Andrew, that being queer could be a bad thing, because everyone in her life loved and supported her so strongly. But regardless of how proud you are to be queer, the rest of the world can still be homophobic towards you, which Samantha discovered when she started exploring her sexuality. In this episode, Samantha shares with host Sean Szeps about finding comfort and community in high school theatre, how homophobia can appear when you least expect it and how her own sexuality has changed since falling in love with her partner Cody, who's a transgender man, after only dating women. If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you: QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare @seanszeps @samanthandrew on Instagram & @samanthandrew1 on TikTok See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Intersex is the 'I' in the LGBTQIA+ alphabet. It's estimated that there are more intersex people in the world than people with red hair but it's one of the most misunderstood parts of the community. Mari Wrobi is an intersex educator and advocate based in Sacramento, California. They discovered they were intersex in their late teens after they'd already come out as trans years earlier. Since discovering they were intersex, Mari has devoted themselves to educating people within and outside the LGBTQIA+ community about what it means to be intersex. In this episode, Mari shares with host Sean Szeps about how they found out they were intersex, why it's not uncommon to learn that you're intersex later in life, common misconceptions about intersex folks and whether Mari feels welcomed by the larger queer community. If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you: QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare @seanszeps @genderfenderbender See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coming out isn't always easy but being gay can be a source of pride and joy for so many in the LGBTQIA+ community. Louis Hanson is one of Australia's most well-known and beloved queer content creators but growing up, he knew gay = bad. To convince others he was straight, he forced himself to abandon any hobbies or traits that would give him away as gay. In this episode, Louis shares with host Sean Szeps about how he hid himself as a teenager, living through a 'second adolescence' after high school, how the shame of suppression manifested in binge drinking (and the night that forced him to get help) and how he's learned to love being gay. If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you: QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare @seanszeps @louishanson See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Almost everyone in Liam Cooper's life found out he was bisexual when he was outed on Married At First Sight Australia. Liam was open to producers about being bisexual before appearing on the show, but he expected to come out on his own terms, not forced to come out at his own wedding ceremony to his brand new wife Georgia. Since leaving the show, Liam has started a relationship with fellow MAFS contestant Samuel Levi and now he cops criticism that he's "been gay all along" from people who don't believe in bisexuality. In this episode, Liam shares with host Sean Szeps about the relief of discovering bisexuality in his early 20's, why he didn't tell anyone he was bisexual before going on MAFS (and how they reacted when they found out) and the stigma towards bisexual men vs bisexual women. If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you: QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare @seanszeps @lcoop_13 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it take to be an advocate for your community? In January, students at Brisbane's Citipointe Christian College were forced to sign homophobic and transphobic contracts as a condition of their enrolment. When comedian Christian Hull found out, he asked his audience to sign a petition asking the school to withdraw the contract and he unintentionally became the spokesperson for the campaign. Christian received thousands of messages over the course of a few days and was interviewed by news outlets across Australia and the world. The contract was withdrawn but the impact on Christian was intense. In this episode, Christian shares with host Sean Szeps about why he stood up for Citipointe students when he didn't grow up in a religious environment, the fallout of his advocacy and second-hand trauma and what parents can do to support their queer kids. If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you: QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare @seanszeps @christianhull See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coming out to your religious family is hard. Going to conversion therapy and then not speaking to them for 10 years is even harder. Rod Jones, one part of the famous Australian Amazing Race duo Tim & Rod, came out to his family in high school. He was raised in a staunch Christian environment, where being gay was a sin that landed you in Hell, so it wasn't a complete shock that he was sent to conversation therapy.  But when therapy didn't work, Rod had to come out again years later at 21. This time, when his parents didn’t accept him again, he cut them off for the next decade. In this episode, Rod talks with host Sean Szeps about the steps he took to try and convince himself (and others) that he was straight, his religious upbringing, his nightly prayers and self-harm, meeting his husband Tim and how his family has built a respectful relationship in spite of everything they've been through together. If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you: QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare @seanszeps @rodsattlerjones & @timandrod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you know you're different, but you don't want anyone else to notice, what do you do? When Kath Ebbs was growing up and coming to terms with their sexuality and gender, they used homophobia and transphobia as a defence to try and convince others they were straight. Kath grew up in a Catholic house and school. They didn't know what the LGBT acronym stood for but they did know when they made out with their female friends at parties, they liked it. They also knew it was wrong. In this episode, Kath shares with Sean about what scared them so much about being a lesbian, dating a trans person and coming out as non-binary after practicing transphobia as a teenager and how religion taught them to be more compassionate in their activism. If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you: QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare @seanszeps @kathebbs See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is going back in the closet and hiding your full self always a bad thing? At various times in Khanh Ong's life, he's been forced to change his personality to fit in. As a teenager at a new school and even during his first season of Masterchef, Khanh acted as the type of gay man he thought he "should" be. Though it may sound sad, this self-awareness and ability to mould himself to different environments has given Khanh opportunities he might've missed out on, which assisted him in dominating on Survivor Australia: Blood V Water. In this episode, Khanh sits down with Sean Szeps to talk about going in and out of the closet, losing his Dad to cancer before coming out to him, whether he thinks his sister and fellow Survivor contestant, Amy, is living in his shadow and how TikTok is teaching him to be more expressive. If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you: QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare @seanszeps @khanhong See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you put a label on a sexuality that doesn't have a name?  Allira Potter is a manifestation and spiritual coach and author. Allira was married to a man in her early 20's but has dated both men and women since separating from her husband in her late 20's. To people who don't get it, Allira says she is bisexual, but to everyone else, she says she is attracted to peoples' energy.  In this episode, Allira shares with Sean about exploring her sexuality in her late 20's when everyone expected her to have it figured out, responding to people who demand she label her sexuality and why she started using they/them pronouns.  If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you: QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare @seanszeps @allira.potter See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you spend most of your time with other queer people, do you ever need to come out?  Millie Poutama has dated women since she was a teenager but doesn't think she should have to come out. Millie believes queer people come out for the benefit of straight people, so by surrounding herself with an open and supportive queer community, she doesn't feel the need to label herself.  But Millie also acknowledges that not needing to come out is a privilege that not everyone in the LGBQTIA+ community can get away with.  In this episode Millie shares with Sean about her 'straight passing privilege' which means she has to come out less than others, how she found women to date without coming out, her IVF and pregnancy journey with her wife Jessie and the different ways she is forced to come out in everyday life.  If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you: QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare @seanszeps @jessi_and_millie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who gets to decide if you're queer 'enough' to use the label? Abbie Chatfield came out publicly as bisexual in 2020 and came out as queer earlier this year. Despite publicly sharing stories of her sexual experiences with women, Abbie is regularly told she's not queer enough to use the label because she's never been in relationship with a woman. In this episode, Abbie sits down with Sean to discuss why it's easier for her to date men, the pressure of figuring out her sexuality with the whole country watching and the struggle to find women to date who aren't fans of her podcast. If this episode brought up any feelings for you or you want more information, these resources may help you: QLife: Call 1800 184 527 for a free phone service every day from 3pm – midnight. Visit their website www.qlife.org.au for a free webchat Minus18: Australia’s LGBTQIA+ charity. Follow them on social @minus18youth or visit their website on www.minus18.org.au for resources, events and training for your school or workplace Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 for 24-hour crisis support If you want to be a part of the Come Out Wherever You Are community, you can follow us on Instagram: @comeoutwhereveryouare @seanszeps @abbiechatfield Hear more from Abbie on her podcast It's A Lot See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.