As one of the star contestants on MTV reality “Are You the One?” Nour Fraij has stepped out of the closet and into the limelight. She is not only putting her quest for romance on public display – but doing so on the first-ever dating show featuring “sexually fluid” contestants.
While Fraij struggles to find love with 15 other contestants, the 25-year-old New Jersey native also peels back a complicated personal journey to MTV celebrity.
“For me to put myself in a position where I exposed myself to that extent is crazy,” Fraij reveals. “But I know that, aside from any negativity I may get, the positive that’s going to come out of the experience is going to change so many lives, and that’s what I’m focusing on.”
Nour Fraij Grew up in a Traditional Home
Today Fraij lives in Brooklyn and works as a model, appearing in publications like Southern Bride Magazine. Promo shots put out by MTV feature her in a revealing bikini. But that’s not how she grew up.
The official MTV bio summarizes her unusual life: “Identifying as bisexual from an early age, Nour was the black sheep in her family. Raised in a traditional Jordanian Muslim household, she had to grow up fast after her father was deported and she married young for the sake of tradition, but she felt trapped in her marriage because she could never truly be herself.”
In an interview with iHollywoodTV, Fraij opened up about her childhood: “Growing up in a Middle Eastern household it was difficult for me to express that part of me. I was scared to say anything because it’s just not very common amongst that culture… to come across an individual that is sexually fluid.”
Fraij Stars in a Ground-Breaking Season of “Are You the One?”
“Are You the One?” takes 16 singles and secretly pairs them via a matchmaking algorithm. The challenge for the contestants on the reality game show is figure out on their own the intended ‘perfect matches.’ A prize of $1 million is on the line if the group’s human intuition can successfully match the computer’s digital calculation.
For its first seven seasons, “Are You the One?” featured only heterosexual contestants. But for the hit show’s eighth season, MTV producers decided to shake up the model. Because all the contestants this time are sexually fluid, each person has 15 potential matches. “The one” – notes the show’s website – “could be anyone.”
“It’s very normal to see a heterosexual dating show. It’s been around since dating shows started,” observes Fraij about the new premise. “The fact that this is the first sexually fluid season in the US, it’s groundbreaking.”
Nour Fraij Went Public to Help Inspire Others
As part of media promotion for the show, Fraij has opened up about her personal struggle, as well as her motivation for participating in the show beyond finding love and winning money.
“I did everything behind closed doors,” she recalls. “I never really talked about it with many people. I had a select few best friends that I would talk to them about it, but other than that I never really was open about it.”
She left her marriage and ultimately decided to stop suppressing her feelings.
“I was just like: I can’t live my life trying to please other people,” she explains. “I reached an age where I’m just like: I don’t care anymore. I’m going to be authentic and real to myself. I need to be true and honest to myself and I have to just be completely 100% accepting of myself. So once I realized that I flew like a bird!”
Fraij adds: “I feel like this was something that I needed to do, not just for myself but for people like me.”
Left unresolved is whether Fraij can find true love. The unfolding season of “Are You the One?” will have to reveal.
