MasterChef's Brendan opens up about 'special moment' with co-star

They’ve become firm fan favourites on MasterChef this year, with fans even calling for Brendan Pang and Reece Hignell to get their own spin-off show.

And now, Brendan has opened up about their bromance, telling news.com.au that Reece was one of the first people he came out to.

“I’d always kind of looked up to Reece as a role model. When I was eliminated we spent a bit of time together before I left to come home and I just opened up to him,” he revealed.

Brendan said Reece’s reaction to his news was ‘like his reaction when Katy Perry walked in’, which if you watch the show, you’ll know Reece nearly lost it with excitement.

“He was surprised but he was happy. It was a really special moment and he’s like a brother to me now,” Brendan said.

The 26-year-old came out in an emotional Facebook post last year, which was liked by over 1,500 people online.

“My name is Brendan Pang and I’m 26 years old... but, for as long as I can remember and up until the age of 24 I struggled with my sense of identity. As a gay male, I had feelings of being “different” very early on, and as I navigated the bumpy road into adulthood, I went through some pretty dark times from feeling pressured to change who I was, to experiencing high levels of social anxiety - oh the list goes on,” he revealed. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

“Thankfully, with the help of a strong and supportive network (my family and friends), I was able to not only survive the complexity of mental health, but thrive and become a stronger, happier, comfortable and proud ME.”

Fans of this year’s MasterChef Back to Win are so enamoured by Brendan and Reece, that they called for the pair to be given a spin-off show once this series has ended.

“Petition for Brendan and Reece to have their own cooking show where they banter like an old married couple and share this knowledge with us all,” one person said.

Another called for the show to dedicate at least five minutes per episode to Reece and Brendan’s ‘bickering’ as it’s so entertaining.

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