Male Model Ronnie Kroell and Boyfriend Taylor Proffitt Celebrate Pride

via Best Gay News Magazine by Gay Travel and Gay News on 6/30/11

SOULMATES
are hard to find.
 But when it happens...you know. 

Whether it is a love relationship or a platonic friendship some connections feel deeper than others, like they have been there forever. Sometimes it is just as if you "click" and other times it is like you've known one another your entire lives.

As Pride month comes to an end, and with New York City on a high with gay marriage passing,  we caught up with supermodel, actor, singer Ronnie Kroell recently and talked about the LOVE of his LIFE, Taylor Proffitt.

"We first met at a bar in New York City.  A drag queen had brought him up on stage to tease him and kind of play with him - and I thought, gosh, this guy is gonna need a cocktail -  so I ordered him a drink and we chatted a bit afterwards, but I was sort of dating this guy at the time, so it was just a friendly drink and conversation.

MONTHS PASS, and our paths crossed on a dating site. But it didn't click at first. It wasn't until we went out to dinner, it all come together we remembered, we had already met. So  the Universe, for a 2nd time, was bringing us together, and now I was ready and open for a relationship. And actually,  in looking back, we realized we had connected on MySpace, even BEFORE the chance bar meeting! So three times, we were brought together by destiny.  And the rest is history!

We are both "soulful". Sex is sex. Relationships are not easy and you need so much more than sex, to make it work. True love goes beyond sex. There's a spiritual connection; an intellectual connection; a heart connection.

There always will be give and take.  There will always be compromise and I think many couples just give up when the smallest of problems arise. They just want to walk away. Communication and honesty is paramount. "


When did you realize you were gay?

"I was in sixth grade and I had a girlfriend and we used to hold hands a lot, and that was about it. Then  in  my sophomore year I had another girlfriend, and I just knew it wasn't right, it didn't feel right. Once when we kissed, she actually said to me - "Ronnie, I think you might be gay!" - I was scared. It was very hard for me accept. And the pressure of society "norms"...so it took a while for me to come to grips with all of that. It took a while for me to get comfortable in my own new skin.

I embrace it now! And I am so excited about everything going on and our visibility with It Gets Better, the Trevor Project, HRC...Google Chrome is going to feature It Gets Better! This is an amazing and exciting time! New York just passed Gay Marriage!!

When I was 16 my mom caught  me kissing a boy, out behind the house! My mom started crying and we started to argue...then my Grandmother came out and said, "Charlene, you've got to just love him for who he is. Otherwise I am going to clock you with my cane!"

It all boils down to fear. Fear of the unknown. And in that moment, my mom felt fear.  And here is my grandmother, who was like - SO WHAT? LET'S JUST LOVE HIM! 

And it took time...there was lots of dialogue and communication and eventually you reach acceptance. Now my mom and I share everything. We're best friends!  And we are SO CLOSE. I am so lucky.

Taylors parents are amazing also. It's really been a blessing.


I think of Ronnie Kroell as a very wise soul. In talking with him, he is wise beyond his years. At 28, he knows more and understands the world, more than some 40 or 50 year olds that  I know.  

I have friends of all ages, sizes, shapes, colors...I love to connect with people and I love learning from people.  I have learned many great life lessons from all of these people I have met.

I have learned you need to be open and aware as you go through life. And when you ask the Universe for something we're not always ready to get that gift...AND the Universe does not always present us, exactly what we asked for.

 I have learned you can't always be in control. Sometimes you have to let go and give into the Universe, and just let things happen. WALK...and don't rush through life.

Last year during Pride, Ronnie had a great article in Huffington Post, part of which said, "At Pride events I saw so many beautiful families (my own included) often several generations of families together (often with a dog or two in rainbow garb!) celebrating time with one another and simply wanting what all families want: the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Sadly, these fundamental rights remain an elusive dream for myself and countless others that identify with the LGBTQA Community, but I am confident that the LGBTQA Equal Rights Movement will soon know the same success of the Woman's Liberation & African American Civil Rights Movements that have prevailed before it."

Ronnie has been busy filming a new movie, an incredible new thriller called, "Into the Lion's Den", in production now. Produced by Dan Lantz and distributed by Breaking Glass Pictures, Into the Lion's Den is a sure to keep you on the edge of your seat thriller!

Join Michael (Ronnie Kroell), Johnny (Jesse Archer), and Ted (TBD) as they embark upon a road trip from LA to NYC that will change their lives – forever. What starts out as a fun-loving and much needed adventure quickly takes a turn for the worse when the boys find themselves in an unfamiliar town and stumble – "Into the Lion's Den". Imagine "Deliverance" meets "Hostel" meets "Broken Hearts Club" as this moving story of friendship and self-discovery unfolds, boundaries are crossed, and the will to survive is the only ally that you have in the face of certain death.


 

 RONNIE KROELL official site

TAYLOR PROFFITT official site

The tuxedo picture is by Jeffrey Eason.
All others, less the American flag one and Gay Pride ,
are done by Getty Images photographer Bryan Bedder.

Flag photos from personal archives of Ronnie and Taylor