Anthony Hairston

Star of “For the Love of DILFs”

Former military service member with a distinguished career in the armed forces and star of season 2 of the reality show For the Love of DILFs, Anthony Hairston is dedicated to health and wellness and his family. With dreams of opening his own venue in NYC, he is a hot, hopeless romantic with an incredible sense of humor.

For the Love of DILFs is a reality show with host Stormy Daniels and serves to shed light and awareness through the platform of the critical issues faced by the LGBTQ community. 

Anthony, a finalist of season 2,  is committed to leveraging his ability to advocate for greater awareness and support for the community, their rights, and their challenges. I had a blast talking to Anthony about his life and career…

HELLO, ANTHONY. HOW DID YOU GET THE “DILF” GIG?

I’ve been in relationships. I’m definitely a long-term relationship guy. My longest relationship was seven years. After we broke up, it was pretty much like a free-for-all. My daughter sent me the application for For the Love of DILFs online. My daughter is 24 and sai, “I know you’re having a good time, but just check this out. It seems like something you would be interested in. Finding love”. Because at the root of all this hooking up and having fun, I’m the type of guy that after I hooked up with someone, I’m like, “Hey, can we cuddle?” I was tired of being a revolving door. I didn’t want to hook up anymore. I’m getting tired of putting notches on my bedpost. And I really did want something substantial. I’m not going to say I was naive, but I walked into the experience open to finding love, whether it’s on TV hosted by Stormy Daniels or in Hell’s Kitchen. Because I haven’t found love in Hell’s Kitchen, I found more hookups. So I said, “Why not?”

WHERE ARE YOU FROM ORIGINALLY?

Originally, I am from Rochester.

LET ME TRACE YOUR LIFE A LITTLE BIT. SO YOU LIVED IN ROCHESTER AND WANTED TO GO TO THE BIG CITY?

I had my daughter when I was 16. So what does any gay man do after he’s had a child? He enlists in the Navy. And I did. As soon as my daughter was born. I wanted to go into the military because I knew that in order for me to be the man that my daughter needed, I needed to be able to provide for her. Living in Rochester wasn’t doing it for me because I had bigger plans and goals. I wanted more for her. So I left right after high school and did four years in the military. It was the best part of my life. Being in the military gave me such a foundation. It allowed me to take a step back and reevaluate what’s important. I still care about those values in my day to day life. Once you’re in the military, you don’t leave those values. You take them with you and apply them effortlessly to your life.

SO HOW DID YOU END UP IN NEW YORK?

Right after the military, I said to my daughter’s mother that I would love to get out of Rochester and move to the city. And I had friends here. The friends that I had here were painting such a glorious picture of New York. “It’s glamorous. It’s fun. It’s a party.” And I thought, “This is going to be a great opportunity for me to have my daughter with me 24/7 and my daughter’s mother.” Even though we’re not together, we have a really solid friendship. And she has supported my lifestyle. So we made the move. I am from a very strict family. We are Asian and black American.

OKAY, SO NOW YOU MOVED. YOU’RE LIVING IN THE BIG CITY WITH YOUR EX. DID YOU HAVE A CAREER IN MIND?

No, at that time it was pretty much, “Let me see exactly where I fall someplace”. I got out of the military. I really just wanted to see where I’m going to be going. I had so many different ideas about what my life was going to be looking like. So it was a matter of applying what I learned to the real world. I immediately went into hospitality–like bartending. And I found the people just loved my personality. They gravitated toward that. 

Being behind the bar and being able to serve people and having those conversations behind the bar, I was so in love with that. I stayed in that industry up until now. I worked at different venues. Very high-end venues. Dive bars. Every experience that I had always came back to how there’s something about the hospitality, and to see that I fell in love with it. I think it was more so because I could say whatever I wanted to say. One thing that I carried throughout my life, because I had to grow up so fast with having my daughter, is that I’m really starting to live my life now. And by living my life, I mean I’m just really enjoying it. I’m laughing. I’m actually coming to terms with my sexuality. And you’re probably like “Whoa, you were gay for a while”, but understanding and acknowledging are two different concepts, especially for myself. I knew that I was gay, but come to terms with it and accepting it was one thing that I just didn’t even really understand where these thoughts will come from. Once I actually appeared on the show, I think I started to unpack all the thoughts that I had towards not associating with a certain type of gay person. There were so many different stereotypes that I even had towards myself that I realized it was issues that I had that I hadn’t dealt with. After the show, it just opened up my eyes. I was perpetuating all these different stereotypes because I had issues with myself that I hadn’t come to terms with. And that I needed to be proud of it. And now that I’m actually confident, I feel free. I feel open to be who I am. It took a long time to get here, but I’m so happy that I finally am.

DO YOU WANT TO KEEP BEING ON TELEVISION AND ACTING, OR WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF NOW THAT DILF2 HAS WRAPPED UP?

None of it was scripted. It was more so that these are some of the things you were going to be presented with before going on screen. I was authentic. 

All my friends and family and even people that I received messages from that I have no idea who they are and I’ve never met… they said, “You seem really authentic on the show”. And I am. I am always going to be myself, whether people like it or not.

I was just having this conversation with one of my classmates yesterday. He asked me where I saw myself going. Funny enough, I’m more comfortable in my underwear and I was just doing a Pride campaign with 2(X)IST underwear. It was amazing. They asked if I had ever modeled before and I hadn’t, but I’m in my underwear, so let me show you what I got. I’m in my underwear and it feels good, so let’s go. Then they put on Taylor Swift and I started dancing and created some magic.

The long-term goal for me is that I want to open up my own establishment. There are so many different reasons behind that. One is I love creating opportunity for people. So, being able to create employment for people really resonates with me. Second, I love creating experiences and memories. So, being able to sit back as a business owner, knowing that I created positions for people’s families, and also to say people coming into my establishment that could go anywhere but they are coming here to have drinks and meet with friends, are two reasons that I’m passionate about this. So opening my own lounge is my goal, but as for the path that I take to get there, I am open. Whether it’s underwear modeling. Whether it’s acting. Whether it’s being on more television shows. I’m open to it.

LAST QUESTION. DID YOU FALL IN LOVE ON THIS SHOW?

Yes, I did. But I didn’t fall in love with the person I was with. I fell in love with myself. I fell in love with someone that I didn’t even know I could even be. I thought I was so insecure, but now I fell in love with myself as a man who is proud to say that he was a gay man just trying to live day to day and live the best of his life while trying to be authentic and have fun.