by Gina Scarpa

 

Mike Manning entered The Real World: DC house this season as the All American Boy that was a lot more than meets the eye.  On the surface, Mike is a former high school athlete and prom king who attends church every Sunday.  At dinner, on the first night, he revealed to his roommates that he was bisexual and hoped that he can show people that you can’t stereotype or judge people right off the bat.  Today, Mike spoke to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview about the fight between Emily and Ty, his up and down relationship with Ashley, and what he hopes people take away from watching him on The Real World.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you want to be part of The Real World this season?
A. Mike: Prior to going on the season, I never saw a single episode.  I just went to an audition with my buddy.  He heard about it on the internet.  I didn’t really wanna go and thought it was gonna be a waste of time.  I told him, “I’ll go if you buy me lunch.”

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted:  You revealed that you were bisexual on the first night at dinner with your roommates.  What made you decide to tell them right then and there?
A. Mike: If I went through the whole season telling people they need to be confident, it’d be hypocritical if I didn’t put myself out there.  I thought about it and I wanted them to get to know me first.  I wanted them to decide whether they liked me or disliked me and then I’d tell them but the sex question came up and I wasn’t  going to lie. 

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: When I spoke to Emily last week, we talked about how no one reacted to her when she told everyone she was bisexual but you did get a reaction.  Did you feel like there was a double standard going on?
A. Mike:  Yeah, I think there was a double standard in the house and I think there’s a double standard in society where girls can make out with whoever or whatever.  A girl can make out with a cow and guys will think it’s sexy.  There’s a negative stigma when it’s two guys.  There was definitely a double standard in the house, in the beginning.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: It seems like, so far, the girls are bonding better than the guys.  Would you say that’s a fair assessment?
A. Mike: Well, you saw that we had guys’ night and we went out.  The guys will bond together. Ty and I would go to the gym a lot and Andrew and I would go to the gym a lot.  Josh wasn’t really around that much in the beginning.  I didn’t have a chance to bond with him in the beginning as much.  It showed me, Ty, and Emily at the gym.  It showed me, Ty, and Josh going to the club.  We don’t bond by sitting down and talking over a cup of coffee.  We bond by hanging out and getting to know each other.  That’s how guys bond.  They go out and they try to one up each other.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You and Emily seem to really have formed a tight friendship.  Will we get to see more of that develop as the season goes on?
A. Mike: I love Emily to death.  We call each other “twins”.  We think alike, we act alike, and we have a lot more than the obvious in common.  Without a doubt, you’ll see more of our friendship.  There are a few more times in the house where I come to Emily's rescue and she comes to mine.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: With the fight that took place between Ty and Emily on last night’s episode, did you worry that, for a minute there, it could escalate into something bad?
A. Mike: Oh yeah and that’s why I broke it up.  Honestly, when Ty drinks, he gets a little aggressive.  I definitely thought that it could’ve escalated.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: On the preview for next week, we see that you and Ashley start to get into it a little bit.  It seems like your relationship with her is very up and down.
A. Mike: Yeah, Ashley … our relationship is up and down because Ashley is up and down.  She’s the moodiest person I’ve ever encountered in my life.   It's like trying to play in the river.  Sometimes the river is nice and sometimes it’s not so nice. 

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: When you think about the end result of being on The Real World, is there something that you hope America takes away about you or a point that you hope to make?
A. Mike:  I’d say my main point is that you can’t judge people by what you hear or stereotypes that are out there… especially the whole bi thing and orientation.  There are so many people writing me on Facebook.  I get 300 messages a day sometimes from people saying, “Thank you for saying that you’re Christian and your orientation isn’t straight.”  “Thanks for being masculine and going to the gym and showing that the whole feather boa wearing gay stereotype isn’t right.”  I mean, that’s fine but that’s not everybody.  I hope to get across that stereotypes are crap.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Now that you’re done filming the show, what are up to?  Do you want to pursue a career in the entertainment industry?
A. Mike:  Yeah, I have a lot of cool things going on.  I’m in school and finishing up my last 2 classes in business.  I’m shooting an indie film with a producer in Denver.  I started that 2 months ago when I got back.  I got the part not even mentioning The Real World.  That was really cool.  I’m trying to get a job on a tv station as a host.  It’s a Colorado based tv station, Vista TV, and they have cooking shows and they’re starting a bunch of new shows.  I’m trying to get a hosting job there.

 

The Real World: DC airs Wednesdays at 10pm ET on MTV.

 

(Image courtesy of MTV)

 

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

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