Strictly's John Whaite made history with his pro dance partner Johannes Radebe as the show's first same-sex pairing but admits he was prepared to face backlash for it.
But since storming the competition to taking them to the coveted Strictly final he said ''the love we received far outweighed any trolling''.
And the Great British Bake Off star ended up appearing in the competition's most diverse final ever - together with deaf contestant Rose Eayling Elis.
Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain on Monday, John, who was fought off the top spot by Rose and Giovanni Pernice - explained: "I thought maybe I should dance with a straight man."
He added: "Because I just thought the flak we would receive as two gay men would be just insurmountable because we've been conditioned to expect that - we were both bullied at school and trolling has never been as bad as it is now on the internet.
The TV star continued: "But we were pleased to say that the love we received far outweighed any trolling because we did receive some trolling... but we don't focus on that because the block button is a very powerful tool and once people are out of sight, they're out of mind."
And John said their performance in the competition has even taken others by surprise as he's been told of a mind shift in some fans - something which he is incredibly proud of.
He went on: "And the amount of support we had from people saying... even when people say things like, you know, ''I was very doubtful at first that this would work. But it's changed my point of view''. How great is that?
John concluded: 'And that is how change is created, isn't it? Slowly, gently, small baby steps to fabulous music and lots of brilliant costumes, darling!'
His dance partner Johannes added: 'I think it has given me a lot of confidence to go out into the world and just be and know that it is OK to be who you are."
