When Orange Is the New Black premiered on Netflix in 2013, it broke ground with its bisexual lead character Piper Chapman, played by Taylor Schilling for seven seasons. Now Schilling has come out via an Instagram story she reshared from visual artist Emily Ritz, who she's dating.
Ritz, who uses "drawing, painting, sculpture and embroidery to bring her unique vision of beauty to life," according to the artist's statement on her site, shared a loving photo of her with Schilling with the caption "I couldn't be more proud to be by your side @tayjschilling," Ritz wrote. "Happy Pride!"
An activist who recently protested alongside Jane Fonda for climate change, Schilling has in the past declined to comment on her personal relationships.
"I think it's pretty invasive," Schilling said in 2017 about being questioned about her sexual identity. "I've had very serious relationships with lots of people, and I'm a very expansive human. There's no part of me that can be put under a label."
"I really don't fit into a box -- that's too reductive," Schilling said. "I'm working all the time -- I don't really have anything else going on. But I've had wonderful relationships. I've had a lot of love, and I don't have any qualms about where it comes from."
