Orange is the New Black has been lauded for its positive and realistic depictions of relationships between women and now it seems the show has given something back to one of its own writers.
In May, one of the show's writers Lauren Morelli revealed that in writing for the show and being around it made her realise she was gay, writing online about her realisation in a fascinating and touching essay.
"I realized I was gay in fall 2012, one of my first days on the set. It wasn’t so much one thing, but the sum of many small details: how uncomfortable I felt around groups of lesbians or how I considered myself (shrug) a ‘not very sexual person.’ When considered alone, these seemed like little quirks that made me me. Wanting to read a book instead of have sex is a perfectly reasonable preference to have, right?"
"But on set, these small moments came into sharp relief, and I found myself answering to an endless stream of cast members who peppered me with questions like a gaggle of kindergarteners curious about their new teacher. ‘Are you dating anyone?’ ‘You’re married?’ ‘To a man?’ ‘But you used to kiss girls?’ ‘Do you miss it?’ I was finally forced to consider a question that had never, ever occurred to me before: Holy sh**, am I gay?"
Morelli started writing for the show 5 months after her marriage to soon-to-be ex-husband Steve Basilone, and that's when all the above kicked in. But instead of the high drama that the show presents, Morelli's situation is a lot more pleasant as she recently jointly filed for divorce and things are all amicable.
And it gets even better because Morelli is now said to be dating Samira Wiley AKA Poussey, which sort of gives this story a modern fairtytale edge to it. True love exists people, just follow your heart!
