Reality TV fans are buzzing about former The Challenge star Davis Mallory, who recently shared a big personal update. He announced he no longer identifies as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Mallory, 42, explained his journey in an Instagram video on Sunday, September 14. He spoke from the stage at Arise House of Prayer and Worship in Hawaii.
Mallory mentioned he "lived a gay life for about 20 years." He first came out publicly on the TV show The Real World: Denver back in 2007. During his recent speech, he stated, "God really pulled me out of that lifestyle a year ago." This marks a significant change from his public identity.
He described his spiritual awakening. "Praise God, honestly," Mallory said. "He started speaking to me in dreams." These dreams, he explained, showed him a "spiritual war." He recalled nightmares where his car was being stolen or he gave away his car’s title. He felt these dreams meant he was giving his identity to someone else. "My car was sliding backward," he added.
Mallory felt these dreams were very clear. They showed him "what sin was doing in my life." He also recounted another dream. In it, a man stood on a mountaintop. Mallory wanted to reach this man. He had to go into the water, even the deep, scary parts. A rock protected him there. He heard words like, "Seek the younger generation and share the news and then take the news to the wise generation." This experience made him feel "as if God was really calling him to something."
His path became clearer after another visit to the Arise House earlier this year. He felt he received a prophecy about healing and wisdom. "I really didn’t know what it meant," he admitted. Then he saw someone get baptized in water that day. A friend with him asked, "Davis, when were you water baptized?" Mallory realized he didn’t remember.
He decided to get baptized at that moment. This powerful experience inspired him to write a song called "Baptized." The lyrics reflect his feelings: "Could this be heaven? Cause if it is, I know I don’t wanna forget it. Is this my second chance? To find love, but now I understand the message."
Mallory’s past experiences also shed light on his journey. In a 2018 interview with Out magazine, he shared that he "had a suspicion" about being queer at age 15. He grew up in a very religious family and community in Georgia. Being gay "was not at all what I wanted to be," he told the magazine. He came out to his college friends during a study trip to Europe. That summer, he fell in love with a man for the first time. He recalled feeling something he had never felt for a woman before.