# Austin Armacost

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**Austin C. Armacost** (born March 28, 1988)[1] is a former American television personality and model known for his appearances on the American [Logo](/source/Logo_(TV_channel)) [reality television](/source/Reality_television) series *[The A-List: New York](/source/The_A-List:_New_York)* (2010–11), and the British [Channel 5](/source/5_(British_TV_channel)) reality series *[Celebrity Big Brother](/source/Celebrity_Big_Brother_(British_TV_series))* (2015; 2017).

## Early life

Armacost was born on March 28, 1988, in [Muncie, Indiana](/source/Muncie,_Indiana), and raised in [Franklin, Indiana](/source/Franklin,_Indiana), a suburb of [Indianapolis](/source/Indianapolis). In his youth, Armacost discovered he was [homosexual](/source/Homosexual): "I knew very young I was gay, but I didn't really face any type of negativity or discrimination growing up."[2] He officially [came out](/source/Coming_out) at 14.[3] He had one older brother, Tyler Armacost (1985–2013), who he described as 'supportive'. Armacost would attend [Lawrence Central High School](/source/Lawrence_Central_High_School) in Indianapolis, where he competed in track and pole vaulting.[2]

## Career

At age 16, Armacost sought a career as a model in high school, traveling to [Chicago](/source/Chicago) from [Indianapolis](/source/Indianapolis) two to three times a month.[3] He eventually moved to Chicago a day after graduating high school to pursue his career.[4]

In 2010, Armacost was cast on the [Logo](/source/Logo_(TV_channel)) LGBT reality series, *[The A-List: New York](/source/The_A-List:_New_York)*, after seeing a casting for a show.[4] The series followed Armacost, as well as five other gay and bisexual men living in [New York City](/source/New_York_City). He would appear in the shows' two seasons before its cancellation in June 2012.[5]

On 27 August 2015, Armacost entered the *[Celebrity Big Brother](/source/Celebrity_Big_Brother_(British_TV_series))* house as a housemate in the [sixteenth series](/source/Celebrity_Big_Brother_(British_series_16)) competing for "Team USA".[6] On 24 September, Armacost was deemed the runner up, losing out to James Hill.[7] Following their appearance in the series, both Armacost and Hill were awarded the "TV Moment of the Year" at the 2015 [Attitude](/source/Attitude_(magazine)) Awards.[8] In 2017, Armacost returned to *Celebrity Big Brother* for the All-Star [nineteenth series](/source/Celebrity_Big_Brother_(British_TV_series)_series_19). He was evicted in a series twist where fellow housemates voted him as the "dullest housemate"; finishing fifteenth overall.[9]

## Personal life

Armacost briefly dated fashion designer [Marc Jacobs](/source/Marc_Jacobs) in March 2008. In the fall of 2008, Armacost met Jake Lees, who was on an international internship originally from [London](/source/London). While filming *The A-List: New York* in July 2010, Armacost traveled to [England](/source/England) to get legally married.[2] Armacost announced their separation in July 2016; the divorce was finalized later that year.[10]

Armacost has been dating business architect, Darren Banks, since October 2016. They primarily reside in the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom).[citation needed]

## Television appearances

Year Title Role Notes 2010–11 The A-List: New York Himself Main cast 2015, 2017 Celebrity Big Brother Series 16: Runner-up Series 19: 15th place 2015 Big Brother's Bit on the Side Panelist; 3 episodes

## See also

- [LGBT culture in New York City](/source/LGBT_culture_in_New_York_City)

## References

1. Quimberly, Anne (August 10, 2023). ["Things You Probably Didn't About Reality Star Austin Armacost"](https://instinctmagazine.com/things-you-probably-didnt-about-reality-star-austin-armacost/). *[Instinct](/source/Instinct_(magazine))*. Retrieved February 20, 2026.

1. Stearns, Amber (2014-08-27). ["A simple request"](https://www.nuvo.net/news/news/a-simple-request/article_2b12457e-6a06-5cb7-abf6-c9716aa411b9.html). *NUVO*. Retrieved 2026-02-20.

1. Guiltenane, Christian (2017-09-07). ["CBB housemate Austin Armacost opens up about anger and alcohol issues"](https://www.attitude.co.uk/culture/film-tv/cbb-housemate-austin-armacost-opens-up-about-anger-and-alcohol-issues-285955/). *Attitude*. Retrieved 2026-02-20.

1. Nunn, Jerry. ["Austin Armacost interview with ChicagoPride.com"](https://chicago.gopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/I208336). *ChicagoPride.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20191025052716/https://chicago.gopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/I208336) 2019-10-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-02-20.

1. Alexiou, Joseph. ["LOGO's A-List Canceled? | Out.com"](https://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2012/06/18/reichen-lehmkuhl-logo-a-list-canceled). *www.out.com*. Retrieved 2026-02-20.

1. ["Celebrity Big Brother 2015: This year's line up revealed"](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/celebrity-big-brother-2015-lineup-chloe-jasmine-jenna-jameson-gail-porter-10475838.html). *[Independent.co.uk](/source/Independent.co.uk)*. 28 August 2015.

1. Agius, Nicola (2015-09-24). ["James Hill wins Celebrity Big Brother 2015 beating Austin Armacost"](http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/james-hill-wins-celebrity-big-6510877). *Daily Mirror*. Retrieved 2026-02-20.

1. ["Digital Spy - Showbiz news, showbiz pictures, showbiz interviews"](http://www.reveal.co.uk/showbiz-celeb-gossip/news/a673879/cbbs-james-hill-austin-armacost-look-so-dapper-at-attitude-awards.html)

1. ["CBB's Austin gets the WORST eviction ever"](https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a818985/celebrity-big-brother-austin-armacost-worst-eviction-no-best-bits-housemate-snub/). *Digital Spy*. 2017-01-14. Retrieved 2026-02-20.

1. Metro.co.uk, Emily Hewett for (3 January 2017). ["Everything you need to know about Celebrity Big Brother's Austin Armacost"](http://metro.co.uk/2017/01/03/who-is-austin-armacost-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-celebrity-big-brother-2017-housemate-6357052/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Austin Armacost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Armacost) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Armacost?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.