Pride Month is not limited to the month of June for Liam Cooper (he/him/his), its message is something he embraces every day.
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The former Married at First Sight (MAFS) Australia groom, who was the show's first bisexual participant in 2021, said awareness is important and it is not "black and white" when it comes to sexual identities.
Liam and his boyfriend and former MAFS New Zealand groom Samuel Levi (he/him/his), said this was essential for the rainbow community in regional towns.
Liam grew up in the Highlands and found people only had a one-dimensional view with sexuality.
"So growing up, I was always constantly fighting to be like, 'well, I'm not gay', and everyone's like, 'no, you're gay,'..." he said.
"...I didn't know what bisexual was until I was in my mid twenties."
While debates about his identity stopped when he moved to Brisbane, they started up once again when he was on MAFS.
"It was a real eye opener that no one thinks the way I think when it comes to sexuality," Liam said.
He now spends time between the Highlands and Melbourne with his boyfriend.
The pair met in Brisbane at the Big Gay Day in 2021 and have been together for almost a year.
It is Samuel's first relationship after his time on the show in 2018, and for Liam, the MAFS groom is his first boyfriend.
"What I love most about Liam, he brings me down to earth... he makes me more of a relaxed, chilled person and just makes me comfortable, where I can be whoever I want," Samuel said.
"It was Samuel's personality that drew me to him," Liam said.
Although he is more confident within himself and found there was more acceptance in the Highlands, Liam said he did not feel like he could be himself fully in the region.
"I still wouldn't feel comfortable walking down the street and holding Samuel's hand in a bar or a restaurant, or even like, just touching on the shoulder like a normal couple would or touching his leg at a table," he said.
"Because you will get the stares and you will get the point and you will get people snickering...and that's just because it's a country town."
Samuel admitted he felt the same when he has come to the region.
The couple think there should be more awareness and visibility in regional towns across Australia.
They agreed that conversations in schools and at home are essential to normalise the LGBTQIA+ community and foster acceptance.
"I just feel it sometimes people treat the LGBT community like we're like a different species," Samuel said.
"And we're not ... I think just treat everyone the same."
Safe spaces for younger members of the community and having pride flags visible in public areas also increases visibility.
For Liam, it has been eye-opening to hear from young people and their loved ones from country towns thanking him for being himself on the show and how it has helped them at home.
"There's a lot of good stories like that, that just really touched my heart," he said.
On the other side of that, people expressed their reservations about expressing themselves due to the areas they lived in.
The pair are eager for Sydney WorldPride, a global celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community which will take place in February, 2023.
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