The 5 Most Surprising Things We Just Learned About Josh Flagg
The Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles agent dug deep to share what it was like growing up gay in Beverly Hills.
When Josh Flagg penned an essay about growing up gay in Beverly Hills, the Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles agent promoted the piece as one of the most candid works he's completed to date.
In a March 26 Instagram post, which linked to the piece on Don't Hide It, Flaunt It's website, Josh had this to say: "I recently published an article about what it was like for me growing up gay in Beverly Hills. It's very personal and something I've never shared before... and it may even make you laugh :) I highly recommend you read it!" Well, say no more.
Over the years, we've learned a lot about Josh as we've watched him on MDLLA. The spitfire real estate ace isn't exactly one to hold things back, so we were particularly curious which tidbits he'd never shared before. And indeed, we found a few gems we were not expecting. Keep scrolling to see the five most surprising things we learned.
1. He Was "Asked to Leave" His Elementary School
That's right! Apparently, school officials at Brentwood School didn't quite think the Beverly Hills native jived with their culture. "I initially went to Stephen S. Wise elementary and then Brentwood School. But from an early age all I wanted to do was real estate, so I was asked to leave Brentwood and then finished at Beverly Hills High School," Josh wrote.
2. He Didn't Hang Out with Kids His Own Age
Always an old soul, Josh didn't particularly care for hanging out with kiddos, even when he was one! "I was singing opera or hanging out with my teachers instead of students during recess," he shared. He later added: "I was one of the few kids who preferred going around the world with my grandmother rather then going to sports camp with kids my own age."
3. He's Got Moves Like... Flagg(er)
Elaborating more on his childhood interests, Josh wrote: "I also loved ballroom dancing and won many awards." What? Where does he keep them? And when can we see his foxtrot?
4. He Was Bullied — But It Barely Fazed Him
Though Josh's family was supportive when he came out as gay, he did endure some bullying at school. "It was different back then—kids were not comfortable coming out in school and for good reason. Probably the roughest experience I had was when I was about fifteen. Unbeknownst to me another student at school placed a book about being gay in my backpack. Because I hadn’t checked it out, as I exited the alarm went off. It was an incredibly cruel act and I felt really humiliated."
That said, Josh still thinks he had it pretty easy. "But besides this incident I really didn’t have much of a problem coming out because I was fortunate enough to grow up in Los Angeles," he wrote. "Even back then, in LA it was pretty hard to find a kid who grew up in a household where their mom wasn’t best friends with a gay decorator or their parents didn’t socialize with a gay couple. So, in retrospect overall I guess I had it quite easy."
5. His Is Totally Comfortable with Fame
Josh isn't the type to demure when he gets questions about what it's like to be on TV. "You know, I might be different from most people when they say what’s it feel like to be on television," he wrote. "I always say the same thing and I actually feel like I’ve been on television my entire life. Now I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing but I’ve always felt like I was in the spotlight. Maybe I thought it was a good entertainer in my own life. And I know I am because I know the people enjoy watching me on television." We can attest to that!