The Valley’s Zack Wickham on activism, TV drama and long distance love

Zack Wickham returned to screens on Bravo series The Valley for it’s third season this year – but he wants to bring even more LGBTQ+ representation to television.

The Valley, a spin-off of Vanderpump Rules, which is itself a spin-off of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, chronicles the lives of a group of friends in LA. The first season followed five couples, with Wickham, who is gay, a “friend of”, alongside Jasmine Goode, who is also queer.

Wickham and Goode were bumped up to main cast members since season two, but, speaking to PinkNews, Wickham says he wants to shine a bigger light on queer culture.

“I feel like my number one thing I want to do is represent our community and also show facets of our community that certain people in other areas wouldn’t get to see,” he tells us.

‘I’m very honoured to be able to represent our community’

“I feel like, right now, with progress there comes the pushback, and when we’ve had this progress, we’re losing our community a little bit. The new people coming in aren’t coming in and then learning from what I consider ‘elder gays’. Club culture is very important because the younger people would come in, then they get the knowledge transfer of why things are the way they are, and the deconstruction of what you thought the world was.”

He goes on: “If I can help in any way with that, or keep our community together or raise it up… I consider myself first and foremost an activist. I’m very honoured to be able to represent our community.”

Speaking of a potential season four, Wickham says: “I would love to be able to showcase more of my activism and how involved in the LGBT community I am, because I think that is very important for us to have the visibility.

“Coming out and doing all this visibility is important for people to put a face to us, so they’re not scared of drag queens, they’re not scared of trans people. I think that is something right now, they are being scapegoated.

“I want to bring another view for these people that maybe aren’t going to get it, so they can see it and be like, ‘Oh wow, they’re just like me,’ or it’s not this crazy thing that you have to protect kids from.”

‘Don’t fall in love with someone from another country’

Another thing Wickham hopes to show more of is his relationship with his partner Benji Quach. The couple are in a long-distance relationship, with Quach only making a few appearances on the show here and there.

“If I could give one piece of advice,” he jokes, “it’s don’t fall in love with someone from another country. It is tedious, but when it’s worth it, it’s worth it. With Benji and I, it’s worth it, so I don’t mind putting in the extra time and figuring out how we’re navigating it together.

“We’re very much on the same page on how we view our relationship and how we are making it our own, because we’re not following the heteronormative. We’re doing it on our own terms.

“Benji is a great partner, and you will get to see more of our relationship towards the end of the season. We definitely have some really big conversations on camera that I think a lot of people will relate to.”

While Wickham has to deal with a long-distance relationship, his co-stars are constantly showcasing their relationship dramas on the show, which he says “hurts a little bit”.

“Anyone in our friend group will tell you Benji’s and my relationship is hilarious,” he tells us. “Like, we go at each other, we have the funniest banter.

“But you don’t really get to see it because it’s much harder to film with him.

“It does hurt a little bit that people don’t get to see that more, and I wish they could.”

‘I’m a Libra, and I like balance’

Of course, Wickham gets involved in his friends’ drama, somehow managing to be the glue that holds many of them together.

“My background, I have a Master’s in business,” he explains, “but I did executive assisting for celebrities, for CEOs. Like, Nicole Scherzinger, I was her assistant on and off for seven years. I’ve worked with Kelly Cutrone.

“I’ve worked with these personalities and managed them before, so it bleeds into my friendships as well.

“It’s almost natural for me. I don’t get into astrology, but I’m a Libra, and I like balance, so I’m constantly like, how can I take this situation and make it better for both people.

“But unlike other people,” he laughs, “I will take sides.”

‘To have them be a part of it is natural’

For season three of The Valley, Lala Kent and Tom Schwartz of Vanderpump Rules fame joined the cast (though they were already parts of the friend group outside of the show).

“To have them be a part of it is natural,” Wickham tells us.

There were rumours Scheana Shay would be joining The Valley too, however she turned it down to focus on her real life for a while.

“I’m so mad at her,” Wickham jokes. “She’s integrated in our friend group, just because she’s not on camera doesn’t mean she’s not right behind the scenes in the mix of everything.

“I think she would be great if she decides to come on. But she’s always been my friend and always will be my friend, so I want her on.”

While Shay might not be on The Valley, she will soon be on-stage at Mighty Hoopla festival in the UK, performing at the Hayu Arena.

Wickham reveals he was supposed to be joining her for the trip, but “it fell through last minute”.

“Her performance is going to be amazing, and I wish her the best because I really wanted to be there,” he tells us.

The Valley Season 3 streams in the UK every Thursday on Hayu, the same day as the USA.

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