Big Brother alum Natalie Negrotti has split from her girlfriend Stephanie Cooler after a nearly two-year relationship. She went to social media to express her heartache regarding the split.
Natalie, a Venezuela-born event planner and former beauty queen from Franklyn Park, New Jersey, competed on season 18 of Big Brother, having an advantage in the challenges on account of her athletic background with gymnastics, dancing, and cheerleading (she's a former NFL cheerleader). She was in the all-girl alliance, the Spy Girls, where she was known by the code name "Flirty Spy." The bubbly former NY Jets cheerleader played down her intelligence in order to be perceived as less of a threat. She slid under the radar and made it to 6th place. Post-Big Brother, she participated in 3 seasons of The Challenge on MTV with other Big Brother alumni. She made an enemy with challenger Kayleigh Morrison on the show, who reportedly outed Natalie on social media for being pansexual, which she felt was disrespectful to her privacy because she hadn't had a chance to tell her family beforehand. She then opened up that she was proud of her sexuality and revealed that she was in a relationship with a woman, who she described as her biggest support.
In April, she introduced her followers to Stephanie by posting a picture of Natalie kissing her then-girlfriend on the cheek, with a caption that read, "Hey guys!!! I’m so excited to finally introduce you to my beautiful girlfriend." The 29-year-old went on to gush about her, writing, "Stephanie is one of the kindest humans I’ve ever met. She is patient with me, understanding, kind, loving, caring, smart, beautiful, sweet, passionate, peaceful, goal oriented, PATIENT, patient and did I say patient?" She then went on to explain to her followers that she had been dating Stephanie for over a year and a half before she decided to make the relationship public. On August 4, Natalie went to Twitter to let reveal that she and Stephanie's 2-year-plus relationship is over.
In the Twitter post, she said that she is "moving today," insinuating that she was living with her ex-girlfriend. She went on to express how she's feeling post-split: "One minute u have life figured out (or so u think) u think ur gunna marry someone and live happily ever after but then that doesn’t work out." Natalie then went on to write about how the pressure of her peers makes the breakup that much more bitter, saying, "I’m 29 single and most of my friends are married with kids." Then she concluded the tweet with, "#hotmessexpress I can’t afford a therapist so u guys have to deal." Attached to the breakup confirmation tweet is a GIF of a woman wiping her tears. Her fans offered her plenty of support and encouragement.
In spite of her sexuality being a battle for her, considering her co-star outed her without permission or warning, this very public relationship and split have helped her to embrace her pansexual identity and encouraged others to be proud of who they are. And even though the former Big Brother star is clearly devastated by the breakup, she has proven with her personality and resilience that she will be bouncing back to her happier self soon.
Big Brother airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9pm EST and Sundays at 8pm EST on CBS.
Source: Natalie Negrotti