During an interview for the June issue of Gay Times, which is a special Pride-themed edition, the reality star and social media sensation opened up about his coming out experience, explaining that he wanted to wait until he was in a relationship before telling his family.
“I remember being so nervous to tell my little sister,” he said. “I was like, ‘I have something to tell you… I’m gay’, and she was like, ‘Cool, do you have a boyfriend?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah’, she was like, ‘Great, when do I get to meet him?’
“I was like, really? It’s that simple? So it went really, really well.”
While Ariana was entirely unfazed by his sexuality, Frankie explained that his mother Joan had some initial misconceptions about the potential implications that being gay would have on his health, but she quickly came around to the idea.
“With my mom, she didn’t know much about the community,” he recalled.
“She was raised in a different time, where being gay was very unaccepted, and she lost several of her friends to AIDS, so she was very concerned with the fact that I would be able to live a happy, healthy lifestyle.
“Fortunately I’d already met some very well-adjusted, out and proud gay men, so I was able to tell her, ‘Look, I can be one of those men in this world’, and she told me to go out there and do it.”
He continued: “She accepted me for everything I was then, but I think through me she became more educated about the community as a whole, which I think is important for everyone when they’re coming out to their families.”
Frankie also revealed that he’ll soon be releasing a follow-up to his glam-rock inspired single Queen, which came out last year.
“You’re gonna be getting some new music coming out from me, which is gonna be fun,” he told us. “We’re gonna go for a bit of a summer bop, it’ll be fun.”
Read the full conversation in the latest issue of Gay Times, available now.
ARIANA Grande grew up with her best friend and biggest supporter, her older brother Frank James Michael Grande Marchione.
Ariana and Frankie grew up performing together at home and have both paved their own paths to success in the industry.
Ariana and Frankie Grande were raised by their mother and grandmother.Credit: GettyAriana is very close to her family including her older half-brother, Frankie, despite their 10-year age gap.
Frankie always wanted a sibling and has been attached at the hip to his little sister ever since she was born.
Frankie and Ariana used to live together as adults and have always referred to each other as their best friend.
NINTCHDBPICT000644596181Credit: GettyIn a tweet, Ariana said that she had the "most hilarious brother alive" and has consistently thanked him for his love and support.
At the 2019 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, Frankie commented on his close bond with his sister saying: “We’re talking 24/7. I was talking to her on my way in and I’ll probably talk to her as soon as I pick my phone back up. You know, we’re very, very close.”
Frankie is openly gay and once admitted that he was actually nervous about coming out to his sister when she was 11 years old, but that she was unfazed and immediately asked to meet his boyfriend.
Frankie has another half-sibling, James Marchione.
The siblings are often spotted out together.Credit: GettyWho is Frankie Grande?
Frankie is a dancer, actor, singer, producer, television host, and YouTube personality.
He has worked on Broadway in Mamma Mia! from 2007 to 2010 and Rock of Ages from 2014 to 2015.
He has also been a producer for several shows off-Broadway, including his one man cabaret show Livin La Vida Grande.
In 2012, Grande created a YouTube channel which now has 459,000 subscribers.
His fans are called "Frankiesteins" and he has weekly "FrankieFriday" and "ToplessTuesdays" videos on his YouTube channel.Credit: Getty Images - GettyHe has also built a large following on Twitter, 25,700 followers, and Instagram, 2.1 million followers.
He was a contestant on the US reality television series Big Brother 16 and then went on to compete on the UK version of the reality show Celebrity Big Brother 18.
Along with his sister, Frankie starred in a Nickelodeon television show, as the villain Franken, on Henry Danger and Henry Danger The Musical.
What is Frankie Grande doing now?
Frankie will return to Broadway in the Celine Dion Musical comedy, Titanique: The Maiden Voyage Concert.
As Broadway is still shut down, Frankie will return in pandemic fashion, performing a virtual preview of the show on Sunday, May 2.
The star-studded cast will include Broadway favorites including:
Marla Mindelle (Sister Act, Cinderella, South Pacific) as Celine, Constantine Rousouli (Cruel Intentions, Wicked, Hairspray) as Jack Dawson, Alex Ellis (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Legally Blonde) as Rose DeWitt Bukater, Frankie J. Grande (Rock of Ages, Mamma Mia, "Big Brother") as Victor Garber among others.
This special performance of the show follows the musical's sold-out pop-up concerts in Los Angeles and New York, earning the show a 2019 BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award.
Frankie Grande covers Break Free by his sister Ariana Grande
A supportive big brother! Frankie Grande has nothing but love for sister Ariana Grande and her husband, Dalton Gomez.
The Big Brother alum, 39, gushes to J-14 exclusively over his sister’s “authentic” May 2021 wedding ceremony, spills some tea on his own impending wedding to Hale Leon and reveals if babies are in Ariana, 28, and Dalton’s future.
While promoting his upcoming appearance as Frankini in Nickelodeon’s When Worlds Collide crossover event, the actor recalls Ariana’s wedding ceremony being “quirky and nerdy and cute.” He adds, “It felt very authentic to who my sister is as a person, which made me really happy. … The authenticity, to both of the bride and groom I thought was really nice.”
As for how they’re enjoying married life, Frankie says, “They’re very happy, and it’s been so nice to see them be so happy together.”
On the topic of babies, the singer stayed mum. “Listen, that’s a question for Ariana and Dalton,” he quips. But that being said, Frankie did call his sister’s relationship “inspiring” as he gears up to “walk down the aisle very soon.”
He adds, “I am excited to … have a good example of [a] couple in my life so that I can … ask questions and be like, ‘Yo, what’s going on. How’s that going?’ And, you know, [to] feel like we’re both doing it at the same time. It’s kind of cool.”
Frankie and longtime love Hale, 29, got engaged in June 2021 after two years together. Now, the duo is gearing up for a wedding of their own, with Ariana in the “wedding party.”
“It will be happening this year,” he confirms to J-14. “I have so many details running around in my head, because wedding planning is so stressful. Nothing that we can share yet, but you’ll definitely know more soon for sure. I’m excited. It’s gonna be nerdy. I’ll tell you that it’s gonna be really nerdy.”
While fans wait for more details on his wedding, they can see him reprise his role of Henry Danger‘s villain Frankini.
“I think the most rewarding aspect is that we get to see yet another level of Frankini’s insanity and pursuit to make the entire world a better place through song and dance,” Frankie teases. “It’s just, it keeps getting busier and busier and more ‘Grande’ and even crazier. So here’s just another level to that.”
As for what fans can see in the When Worlds Collide crossover event? A lot of “new dancing” and “new music.”
“I think that you are really going to enjoy watching all of your favorites from all these different shows, interacting with each other and seeing how the chemistry between show casts plays out,” he adds. “It’s really exciting and cool.”
The When Worlds Collide crossover event premieres via Nickelodeon on Thursday, April 21, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
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