Never Have I Ever's Lee Rodriguez Opens Up About Coming Out & Relating To Her Character Fabiola

Lee Rodriguez is opening up about coming out and how she relates to her character Fabiola on Never Have I Ever.

The 21-year-old actress shared her thoughts in a recent article with Cosmopolitan where she dished on being “tired of coming out.”

If you remember, in season one Fabiola came out, and in real life, Lee came out on National Coming Out Day in October 2020.

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“I kind of felt pressured, in a way, to share that part of me. I knew it was going to be a thing when taking on the role of Fabiola and I was prepared for that because it’s not okay for straight actors to take queer roles,” Lee shared. “I personally would not have taken the role if I wasn’t. But what I didn’t know was how much I would get the question.”

“When people kept asking me, I felt like maybe I didn’t look like a queer person. But you shouldn’t have to explain your queerness. You don’t owe anyone an explanation for your queerness or proof that you’re a valid queer person,” Lee continued.

“Sometimes you think, ‘Oh, I’m the only one who feels this way. I’m the only one who feels like I don’t really fit into queer culture and there’s only one way to be queer,’” she said. “But storylines like Fabiola’s give validity and make people feel seen and less alone. It’s not a story always told. A lot of people related to Fabiola because she’s a nerdy, queer woman, and I personally related to Fabiola’s storyline too.”

“I hope down the road, more people see their stories represented, even when they aren’t your traditional kind of coming out stories. I would love to see different ways to come out, because it doesn’t have to look a certain way.”

Lee also shared another reason why she’s sharing her story.

“I want to speak out about my own experiences now because I want people to know that coming out looks different for everyone. There’s no one way to come out. Sometimes you already know how you feel on the inside, but you don’t want to put a label on it,” Lee said. “Whatever you feel most comfortable with makes you valid. You don’t have to have a huge coming out. Sometimes you can just feel it within yourself and that’s okay! You’re still valid.”