In Season 2 of Netflix’s The Ultimatum: Queer Love, six LGBTQ+ couples were faced with one question: marriage or move on? After an emotional trial marriage period with new partners, some walked away engaged, while others walked away for good.
When AJ Blount joined the reality show, she wasn’t the one asking the big question. That came from her partner, Britney Thompson—a 27-year-old registered nurse and entrepreneur—who felt their long-term relationship had hit a standstill.
“I issued AJ an ultimatum because after years of loving and building [a life] with her, I am ready for the next chapter,” Britney shared in her cast bio. “I want clarity on where we are going and if she sees forever the same way I do.”
AJ, 28, works as an administrative assistant and MC in Orlando. While she loved Britney deeply, she hesitated to commit—unsure whether they were aligned on the same future. She later explained, “It’s not about love. It’s about whether we’re truly ready to prioritize the same future.”
By the end of the season, the couple had survived trial marriages, their first-ever breakup, and of course – being in the public eye.
“Honestly, I’m not really planning too much,” AJ told Gayety about navigating reactions to the show. “The world will have what they want to say… But really what’s important to me is my relationship and keeping close with a relationship with God right now.”
Reality TV as Bootcamp
One metaphor helped AJ frame the experience: basic training.
“My dad, he would always say it’s like bootcamp,” she said. “Bootcamp is tough. You might have to put on a gas mask and go in a gas chamber, and then you might have to learn how to combat. But it is tough and it’s unjust and it’s rurally, but you’ll make it.”
That intensity colored every moment—from navigating public opinion to sleeping next to someone who wasn’t her partner.
“It is hard. I wouldn’t use the word traumatic,” she clarified. “I would say anything like life, it can be difficult. I think it just was a very difficult experience to process, to navigate.”
Meet-Cute-Cute in the Club
Here’s how it all started for AJ and Britney. AJ was celebrating her birthday at a club when Britney approached her.
“She came up to me in the club. She said she saw me from afar, knew I was gay, lost me, saw me again, then came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder,” AJ recalled. “Now mind you, at this point in time, I’m a little lit—or a lot of lit.
“The question was, ‘Hey, I think you’re cute,’ or the statement. And I told her, ‘Cute or cute-cute?’ And she’s like, ‘I think you’re cute-cute.’
“I didn’t really get that she was gay. I just think some girls sometimes be experimenting, and I didn’t know which one she was.”
She then joked, “I’ll have to probably put that on a T-shirt.” And honestly? I need one. Normalize walking up to strangers at bars and asking, “Cute? Or cute-cute?”
Showing Up—Even When It Hurts
Through all the chaos, AJ held firm to her values.
“Sometimes you could end up being the villain in other people’s stories regardless of how much you show up,” she said. “But I realized how much I showed up in love, how much I show up as a trial marriage partner, how much I show up in everyday life.
“Even when you’re showing up as your best self… I’m not going to stop showing up. Whether you take it good, bad, ugly, red flag, burgundy flag, green flag—whatever you want to take that as—I’m not going to stop showing up.”
The Bigger Picture: Queer Visibility
AJ also spoke candidly about the importance of representation, especially for masculine-presenting queer women and people of color.
“I think the representation is important,” she said. “Sometimes people can get hung up on every little thing that they want to see in a show. But we just had the first show of this literally two years ago.
“They could have easily canceled it after season one,” she added. “More representation is on the horizon, but let’s take it day by day, step by step, show by show.”
