Everything Big Brother star Jason de Puy has said about his challenging journey to sobriety
He's now an advocate for the LGBTQ community
Jason on Big Brother season 28 has been sober for the last 16 years and has been through some seriously heartbreaking challenges. Here’s everything we know about Jason’s sobriety journey and everything he’s gone through to get to Drag Race and Big Brother.
View this post on Instagram
Jason’s been open about the fact that he briefly struggled with substance abuse issues, and has been sober since he was 21 years old. He’s shared that his substance abuse stemmed from a lack of queer-friendly sex education and the shame he felt as a young man coming to terms with his identity.
Because of his lived experience, Jason has also been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2020, he was a panelist at a West Hollywood town hall meeting, as he is actively working to de-stigmatise addiction and help others in the LGBTQ community find the resources they need to recover.
Fellow Drag Race alum Frankie Grande, Ariana Grande’s brother, has credited Jason with helping him find his own sobriety after the two met on set.
Jason went on Have a Seat with Manny Rodriquez and Guests, in April 2025 where he openly discussed some of the struggles and challenges he’s faced.
View this post on Instagram
He opened up about his weight loss and revealed that it stemmed from his mother’s cancer diagnosis. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2018, and he used food as a way to cope. This was on top of a toxic relationship he was in where he “gave parts of himself away.” He gained the weight during the pandemic and it was a cycle of weight gain and loss that was directly tied to his mother’s health.
Jason’s mother tragically passed away while his appearance on Drag Race was airing. “All this stuff came crashing while I was at the height of success,” he said on the podcast. He eventually did the necessary work and healed those parts of himself which led to him losing weight.
Jason’s website for his drag queen Salina EsTitties, reads: “Her 11 years of sobriety and extensive experiences in this industry have led her to unapologetically share every little piece of her Latina self with any audience she can.” Which is exactly what he’s been doing on Big Brother so far.
For all the latest reality TV cast member news, scandals, gossip and updates – like Reality Shrine on Facebook.