'Ex on the Beach's La Demi Martinez Is Not a Fan of Labels

Season 4 of Ex on the Beach has fans on their toes, and not just because the MTV dating competition series has left behind the sunny beaches of California in favor of a New Zealand winter wonderland.

In fact, that's hardly the only change to rock the world of this competition. This season has expanded its geographic frontiers and has also invited trans and non-binary contestants to participate.

Ru Paul's Drag Race alum and non-binary star Adore Delano is quickly cementing themselves as a fan favorite, but many are also wondering about trans participant, La Demi Martinez. Keep reading for some fun facts about the contestant.

While she's introduced on the show as a Glam Masters alum, where she appeared as a beauty influencer, Screen Rant notes that La Demi's reality television debut actually came a bit earlier, on Botched.

"I had the wonderful chance in early 2018 of working with Laverne Cox on Glam Masters," La Demi said in an interview with Newsweek. "I've always felt she has been a great advocate of transgender youth, transgender women and everything to do with the LGBTQ+ community. She really stood her ground and is a great role model."

The Ex on the Beach contestant initially appeared on Botched after internet trolls berated La Demi for looking like a man. "They said 'you're so manly,' 'your chin gives you away,' 'get it fixed,'" she told Newsweek. "I believe my main goal is to continue inspiring individuals around the world that feel they need to look a certain way to feel a certain way," she shared.

"I want to continue putting out that message of being yourself," she added. The makeup persona and social media beauty influencer now boasts 119k followers on Instagram and nearly 40k followers on YouTube, where she first came out.

When La Demi got the call that her father passed away, it made her realize "how short life is," and changed her outlook and perspective. "I had never talked to my dad about being transgender, I had never talked to my dad about being gay," she shares candidly in this video that's now been viewed over 15,000 times.

"He would question me," she continued, "and I lied because I was scared." La Demi made the brave decision to attend her father's funeral as herself, La Demi. "It was my first time revealing myself to my entire family, to him," she continues in the emotional video.

"I was wearing a really long black gown, red lipstick, eye shadow, everything," and La Demi burst into tears with her late father at her side to "let it all out." 

Her family cried alongside her, she recalls. "I realized that everyone was crying out of joy and not hate and I just [wished] I'd done it so much earlier when he was still alive because everyone welcomed me with arms wide open."

That said, La Demi wants people to let go of the pressure of coming out. "You don't have to label things," she bravely states in the video. "It's nobody's business what you are, who you are, transgender, gay, LGBT, whatever you may be."

"I think I spent so long beating around the bush, trying to figure out this label to put on myself that I was stressing myself out," she adds.

Now, she's shining bright enough for the whole world to see. Watch Ex on the Beach on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.