This hasn’t been a good few weeks for Dallas’ gay reality contestants. Two weeks ago, Lewisville’s Ben Starr almost made it to the final of MasterChef, having to settle instead for the praise of host Gordon Ramsay. Then Monday night, Leslie Ezelle — the breast cancer survivor and local interior decorator we profiled in July — was one of two contestants eliminated from HGTV’s Design Star. But Ezelle is taking it in stride: Rather than sulk, she invited some of her friends over to a viewing party to watch her get eliminated.

Why share your loss with the public? After surviving six cancer surgeries, Ezelle felt it was only fair to let her four children and stepchildren know you can’t succeed unless you try. And it gave her another chance to make her case for Susan G. Komen’s Race for the Cure on Oct. 15.