The Cut - Becca Tilley Gets Her Rose

On the Friday of New York City’s Pride weekend, Becca Tilley stands on a small stage in the event room at the Standard Hotel, the celebrity host of a brand-sponsored fundraising event for the Trevor Project. The room is full of beauty-industry professionals, influencers, and content creators; after Tilley speaks, the audience will be treated to a performance by a one-time America’s Got Talent act I’m told has a huge following on TikTok. But first, Becca. Dressed in a silky green halter top and skirt with a matching feathered robe, Becca Tilley introduces herself as someone who was “on The Bachelor a few years ago.” Then she smiles and adds, “Things have changed since then.”

A month earlier, Tilley had appeared in singer Hayley Kiyoko’s Bachelor-themed video for “For the Girls,” the first single from Kiyoko’s forthcoming second album. It was the prologue to what was, for some, a long-awaited relationship reveal: At the video-release party that night in Los Angeles, Kiyoko invited Tilley onstage, presented her with a rose, and kissed her. The moment went viral on TikTok, and Tilley posted confirmation of their four-year relationship on Instagram the next day. (Kiyoko has been out as a lesbian since 2015.) Acknowledging the perhaps not-so-shocking nature of the reveal, Tilley captioned her post, “Hard to say if this is a hard or soft launch, but it is a launch.” Celebrity sites and tabloids picked up the news, and by the end of the weekend, Tilley was out-out — but she wants to be clear: Her relationship with Kiyoko was never a secret. It was private, and there’s a difference.

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