Reza Farahan. (Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)There are lots of upsides to fame: getting the best seats at the fanciest restaurants, bottle service at the hottest clubs, free clothes from top fashion designers. But for "Shahs of Sunset" star Reza Farahan, he says not much has changed since his Bravo series became a smash after just a six-episode run — well, except for one thing. "Guys are texting me pictures of their junk," the openly-gay reality star told omg! at the GLAAD Media Awards over the weekend. "They were popping up when I was in meetings so I had to change the settings on my phone." The 38-year-old real estate agent also adds that now when he goes to his local Starbucks and men are staring at him, he's not just getting "cruised" … they're merely fans of the show who recognize him (and his notable mustache, Little Reza, which has its own Twitter feed, of course).
"Shahs of Sunset," which is produced by the same man we can all thank for the Kardashians' rise to reality fame — Ryan Seacrest — was recently picked up for a second season, just days after its finale drew more than 1.5 million viewers. Over its short freshman season, fans were introduced to the wild, yet lavish lives of Reza, his best friend and fellow real estate agent MJ, bad girl GG, eccentric artist Asa, and playboys Mike and Sammy. As for "Shahs" insta-success, Reza explains, "I think it's because it's very real. We are Persian and minority groups have a lot of things in common. And there are a lot of relatable issues whether it's dealing with family, sexuality, having to live in a foreign land, religion -- there's a lot of realness and a lot of things that viewers can relate to."
When the second season returns to Bravo, fans can expect the same shenanigans from the "Shahs" — including the fights, the partying, and the strong, deep-rooted friendships. "As far as drama concerns, the beautiful thing about life and friendship is that there's evolution," says Reza. "Some relationships that you see in episode one may change and shift completely. When you're friends with people as long as we've been friends, there's definitely ups and downs."
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