Psychiatrist Marcelo, 31, came out to another contestant on "Big Brother Brasil," making headlines due to the popularity of the program across the South American country.

A 31-year-old psychiatrist competing on the wildly popular "Big Brother Brasil 8" ended a week of rabid speculation by acknowledging he is gay. Marcelo, from Uberaba in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, came out to another contestant this week -- making headlines throughout the country.

"I am a normal person," he said, but came clean when Thalita asked if he had a boyfriend at the moment. "Everyone knows now, so I can talk. There is someone who fills my heart," Marcelo replied.

Signs were there that Marcelo was gay, according to G Online, a gay Brazilian website. Asked about his sexual orientation a day earlier, Marcelo ahd said, "No one can prove anything, so there's just rumor. This is a matter that only concerns me and the people with whom I'm involved. To explain all this and talk about this is not why I'm here" on the program.

Even before Marcelo came out, one gay Brazilian-American blogger had declared that the bearded and beefy Marcelo would become an icon for the "bear community" in Brazil.

In his official BBB8 blog, Marcelo later wrote: "I know that many will condemn me for coming out, but I don't fear something  so natural. God made me this way, and I have pride in myself."