Gay Couple Kevin And Bob Join Gogglebox Australia

One of Australia’s most popular reality TV shows, Gogglebox Australia, made its season 16 premiere on Wednesday  night on Foxtel and featured the show’s very first Indigenous family. 

Not only is this Australia’s first Indigenous family on the show, but they are also the first out gay couple on the show since Wayne and Tom left back in 2018.

Kevin, Bob, Jared, and Mia are the newest additions to Foxtel and Network 10’s Gogglebox Australia, after the unfortunate and sudden passing of fan favourite Di Kershaw, who the first Gogglebox episode is dedicated to.

Kevin Yow Yeh and Bob Smith have been in a relationship for five years. Their university friends Mia Strasek-Barker and Jared Hutchinson, another out and proud gay, Indigenous man join the couple on the couch. 

Very Close Friends

Please welcome Jared, Mia, Kevin and Bob to #GoggleboxAU 🥳 pic.twitter.com/s4jD8ZkjDI

— Gogglebox Australia (@GoggleboxAU) August 24, 2022

Network 10 describes the four friends as “very close and often catch up to discuss the navigation of life, love and relationships whilst having fun and staying connected to their communities as young, proud, and staunch custodians of their Indigenous culture and identity.”

A Wakka Wakka and South Sea Islander man, Kevin grew up on Butchulla Country (Hervey Bay) in Queensland’s South-East. Kevin is a university lecturer and research student “examining ways to best support First Nations peoples seeking justice and compensation from workplace racism”.

Kevin first met Kalkadoon, Undumbi and South Sea Islander man Jared and Mia, who is Yuwaalaraay/Gamilaraay, at university as an undergraduate student.

Kevin has been in a relationship with Kamilaroi man Bob for around five years. They live in Meeanjin/Magandjin (Brisbane) and have two children whom they co-parent and raise alongside their mum.

“We’ve been so fortunate to grow up as part of the ‘Brisbane Blacks’ community [-O-]. We’re so excited to be part of the Gogglebox Australia family and are really looking forward to sharing a small glimpse into our lives with you!,” they said on Instagram.

There Hasn’t Been A First Nations Family On Gogglebox Australia Before

In an interview with News Corp, Kevin, a university lecturer at Queensland’s University of Technology, explained “we bring a really unique and fresh perspective because there hasn’t been a First Nations family on Gogglebox before.” 

Mia Strasek-Berker, who works at the University of Queensland managing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections and Services, said in a statement “we are using blackfella terms and Aboriginal English slang as well.”

She said that she hopes her appearance on the show will help other Australians learn about her Indigenous culture and encourages other Indigenous people to apply for TV shows.

Not only is this diverse casting important for Indigenous people, but it is also important for any First Nations people who identify as LGBTQI who will finally feel seen, and be able to relate to Kevin, Bob, and Jared. 

Gogglebox Australia’s sixteenth season premiered on August 24 on Foxtel and premieres on Channel 10, on August 25, at 8:30pm AEST. The show is available to stream on Binge.