Kim Ri-won Breaks Silence: Addresses Past Broadcasts and Comes Out as Lesbian

Kim Ri-won, one of the cast members from the dating reality show To Get Her, has broken her silence about the rumors flying around about her personal life and sexuality.

On April 29, she dropped a long post on her social media, saying, “Before causing any more harm, I want to directly speak the truth and apologize.”

She got real about her past and said, “From 2016 for approximately two years, from November 2021 to March 2022 for about four months, and from February to September 2024 for around seven months, I engaged in private content broadcasting for a total of about three years.” She also cleared up some misunderstandings, adding, “During my broadcasting activities, I had a total of six dinner dates, and all meetings were healthy meals without any physical contact. To prove this, I always broadcasted on those days and kept records.”

When it came to the talk around her sexuality, she didn’t shy away, stating, “I am a woman who loves women.” She shared more, saying, “Due to the desire to deny myself, I have dated both women and men. Until June 2024, I was in a long-term relationship with a woman, and after that, with the last attempt to deny myself, I met a man in August.”

But things weren’t easy. She revealed, “Every time I wanted to break up, I was subjected to threats of outing my sexual orientation to acquaintances and family, as well as assault, confinement, hacking, and death threats.” She explained why she chose to go public, saying, “In a situation where breaking up was not easy, I desperately wanted to come out on my own terms rather than being outed by someone else, so I applied for the program.” After filming, she said they met again for a couple of weeks, but since early this year, they’ve had no further relationship. She added, “Before appearing on the show, I hired a lawyer and am currently preparing for a lawsuit.”

Ri-won also admitted, “With my selfish desire to acknowledge that I am a lesbian, I appeared on the program. As a result, I have caused harm to the program and hurt the valuable cast members and production team, for which I sincerely apologize.”

To Get Her is Korea’s first dating reality show focused on women, made by the creators of His Man, which previously made waves for showing men’s love lives.

Things heated up online on April 28 when rumors popped up in forums accusing Kim Ri-won of pretending to be gay and claiming she used to be a ‘cam girl’ BJ (broadcast jockey). That’s what kicked off the backlash.