Bruno Alcantara. If you’ve been watching RuPaul’s Drag Race since Season 11, then you know him, love him, and look forward to seeing him every time Ru decides to yell, “Ohhhhh, Pit Crew!” But the Brazilian bombshell has come a long way from just standing in the background of a hot pink soundstage.
After hosting In Bed With Bruno in 2024, Alcantara proved he is leading man material. His new venture, Happy Endings With Bruno, follows a similar formula but with a fun twist. Instead of chatting with celebs in bed, Alcantara plops them on a massage table, strips them down, and gives his guests a full rubdown while having some of the most intimate, in-depth conversations on TV.
At first glance, it’s easy to chalk up Happy Endings With Bruno as a sexy show selling muscles instead of substance. However, that assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. In an interview with Fangirlish, Bruno Alcantara discusses the healing experiences he strives to bring each guest and just how important it is for everyone to find their happy ending.
Pulling From Real-Life Growth and Struggles
When asked about the inspiration for Happy Endings With Bruno, Alcantara gets right to the heart of it. “This whole thing comes from my desire and need to bring a side of me that people don’t have the chance to see on [Drag Race]. That is, I love deep conversations. I’m very curious about the way people think and feel.”
Alcantara has been on his own journey of self-growth and discovery. Eleven years ago, he moved from Brazil to the United States to learn the English language. “I’m so grateful,” he said. “I’ve had the chance to live so many amazing and beautiful things, but it is not easy. I know how important it is to keep balanced, to keep yourself grounded, not lose yourself, to make the right choices as an adult. It’s not always easy, if it’s ever easy at all.”
During those early years on Drag Race, Alcantara did his job well and became a quick favorite among fans, but his ambition extended beyond just Speedo appearances. As a clinically trained massage therapist and life coach, he sought to put those skills to work and create more meaningful content. “After a while, you also realize that life is not only about you. It’s also about how you affect everybody else around you. I’m very spiritually aware, and I think massage was the first time, or the first thing, I’ve done in my life that was more about being a service and not much about me.”
“I still think about being a therapist,” Alcantara added. “But maybe I can get to do that in a different way, in reaching many more people instead of one-on-one. I think this show is already kind of giving that.”
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Happy Endings With Bruno Is All About Going Deep
After speaking with Alcantara, therapy definitely seems like his calling. Unlike traditional talk shows, where the host provides a platform for answering basic questions usually related to the guest’s career, Alcantara goes deeper and seeks to spread a message. “With everything the world is going through right now, I think it’s that everybody’s on the edge. It makes it very hard for us to find balance and to be grounded and to keep ourselves sane. And I think the show is bringing a little bit of that awareness to find balance, find joy, process your emotions, be in tune with your body. And on top of that, how beautiful and relatable these stories are.”
He also added, “What I’m happiest about was seeing people being very vulnerable and sharing very deep stories. I really saw a healing moment on the show, and that’s beautiful. And I’m like, ‘I’m doing something right here,’ you know what I mean? And I’m not the one who is doing it. I’m a part of this, and because I’m a part of this, I’m very proud.”
When asked if he’d noticed a difference in the emotional vulnerability of American men versus men from Brazil, Alcantara stated he finds Americans more “open-minded,” but that it’s really a case-by-case thing. “I think each case is a different case, but that would definitely affect the way they show up and the way they process their emotions, what they were told. And sometimes, it’s not even family. It’s a relationship that you have. Somebody who’s very important to you in the way of thinking.”
“I really believe that happy people make people happy,” he continued. “I think the biggest job, first one of all, should be, ‘How can I make myself happy?’ And, of course, we’re not going to be happy all the time. And, of course, this whole thing is easier said than done. But if you just want to do one little thing for yourself today, what can it be? That’s how I treat myself. Because I do want to be better, do better, and I want to inspire people to do the same for themselves.”
Alcantara brings these philosophies to Happy Endings With Bruno. It’s not just a talk show for him. It’s a safe place for his guests to open up. “We had this opportunity, this space, really, for people to bring whatever they have because we don’t really know what to expect. I think that the amazing thing is that they delivered. They dropped, they relaxed, they shared, and we were able to give them a happy ending. And then, of course, we have different happy endings in life. This is one happy ending for my life, and I’m sure I’m going to have many other endings coming.”
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Substance Over Sex Appeal
One word comes to mind after watching the trailer for Happy Endings With Bruno: hot. Watching an attractive man rub down other attractive people certainly has its appeal. Even the series’ first guest, adult content creator Kyle Krieger, suggests the show is all about muscles and sex. And while it’s certainly a selling point for audiences, Alcantara has other priorities. “Before we started, it was nice to see the bodies,” he chuckled. “But hey, I have so many other things to focus on. The body is the least important.”
Alcantara also added, “I think, as I said, the most beautiful, impactful thing was to be present during the healing moments that we saw. I cried at some points on set filming because it was very real, and it was very surreal stories, and they’re sharing. So you really need to be present and listen.”
With a guest list, including names like Brandon Kyle Goodman (Abbott Elementary), Nick Lemmer (RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! dancer, Lazi Susan), Kameron Michaels (RuPaul’s Drag Race S10, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars S6), Sebastian Molina (RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! dancer), Siam Phusri (Drag Race Thailand S3), and Kyle Krieger (mentioned above), there is no shortage of heart-moving (and heartwrenching) stories. But really, what Alcantara wants most for audiences is the opportunity to relate.
“I hope people, as they watch, can relate to these stories,” he said. “They can realize hope. They can feel validated by the traumas, emotions, and feelings, or whatever experience they had in their lives, because you see how everybody on the show went through something, and they are going through something or struggling with something.”
“We are never alone,” he emphasized. “I think the most dangerous feeling we may have sometimes in the world is that we are going through something, and we think, ‘Oh my God, I am the worst. My problem is the biggest one.” And no! I hope this show gives them hope to realize that, you know what, I may have gone through this, and I have this experience and all that, or maybe my life right now is not the best, but I know I can deal with it. I know I can find a happy ending.”
Happy Endings With Bruno premieres July 5, 2025, on WOW Presents Plus.
