Raegan Revord is opening up about their gender identity.
The 17-year-old Young Sheldon alum confirmed that they are nonbinary while promoting their new novel, a queer love story called Rules for Fake Girlfriends. During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Revord explained that it is “super important” to them to use their platform to be an example of a queer person in the public eye.
“It’s crazy to say growing up, because I am only 17, but even in 2014 or whenever I was getting more into reading and broadening my horizons and reading stories and watching TV and stuff, there wasn’t a lot of queer representation,” they reflected. “Even in 2014 — 10 years ago — which is crazy to say.”’
They added: “It’s so cool because growing up, whenever I would see a celebrity, or whoever, come out as nonbinary or queer, I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is so cool, I see myself in you.’ It’s so crazy to have that experience where I’m now that person and there might be a kid somewhere who’s like, ‘Oh my god, I see myself in you.’ And that’s such an insane thing ’cause I was in that kid’s shoes at some point in my life.”
“I love angst, I love tension, I love all the drama,” they said of their favorite romance tropes.
At first, Revord revealed they were set on the fantasy genre, but queer love stories like Alice Oseman’s beloved series Heartstopper led them down the rom-com route.
“I love how innocent the love story was,” Revord shared. “Heartstopper was such an accurate representation of found family friend groups, queer youth, and I think it’s so important to have that. I loved the story and I always wanted to write something that was like that.”
Rules for Fake Girlfriends follows a college student who accidentally finds herself in the middle of a fake-dating scheme.
The lead character is named Avery Blackwell, who, after the death of her mother, decides to forgo attending Columbia University for the small seaside school in England that her mom attended.
On the train there, however, Avery meets a girl named Charlie and is pulled into her plot to be fake girlfriends in an effort to avoid her ex and make him jealous. In return, Avery asks Charlie to help her solve a scavenger hunt that her mom left behind and the two depart on an adventure that leads them to develop a bond they never expected.
“We have a lot of teachers and librarians in our family, so it’s always been a big influence in my life,” they noted. “But because I’ve been reading so much ever since I was little, [I’ve] always been in the world of books. I knew as a reader myself what other readers might want.”
As they pursue their passion for writing, Revord offered some advice for other aspiring young writers.
“A lot of people will doubt you because of your age, and a lot of people will not take you seriously,” they said. “I had such a passion and such a love for this book and this story, and I thought it was so important to tell. And if that’s how you feel about being a writer, then you have enough.”
