Background
After Lehmkuhl"s parents, a policeman and a nurse, divorced when he was five, his family moved to Norton, Massachusetts, and his mother remarried.
After Lehmkuhl"s parents, a policeman and a nurse, divorced when he was five, his family moved to Norton, Massachusetts, and his mother remarried.
Lehmkuhl graduated from the United States Air Force Academy.
Sometime after 2002, he changed his first name legally from Richard to Reichen. He has since advocated for gay rights in the military as a spokesperson for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. Lehmkuhl and Chip Arndt were a couple during the competition but have since split.
During the show, the couple was typically described as "Married" in the subtitles that are used to illustrate the relationship between team members (other teams being, for example, "Best Friends" or "Father-Daughter").
Lehmkuhl had a cameo in an episode of Frasier in September 2003 as "Impossibly Handsome Manitoba"
Lehmkuhl hosted The Reichen Show on Q Television Network until Q Television ceased operations in May 2006. His autobiography Here"s What We"ll Say, about his time in the Air Force under the military"s commonly called "Don"t ask, don"t tell" policy, was released by Carroll and Graf on October 28, 2006.
The New York Post reported in November 2010 that the book had been adapted into a screenplay. He published a beefcake calendar for several years and has appeared on sitcoms, soap operas, and other reality television shows.
On May 1, 2007, the LGBT-interest television network here! announced that Lehmkuhl had joined the cast for the third season of its original gothic soap opera, Dante"s Cove.
He plays the role of Trevor, originally described as "a business school graduate who comes to Dante"s Cove looking to find himself."
Lehmkuhl also has a jewelry line called Flying Naked composed of flight-themed jewelry made of titanium steel. Items from the collection are being sold from loveandpride.com. A percentage of each sale goes to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
Lehmkuhl starred in My Big Gay Italian Wedding, an off-Broadway production from its opening May 5, 2010 in New York City to July 24, 2010.
A percentage of ticket sales promoted legalization of same-sex marriages in the United States through Broadway Impact. LGBT-interest network Logo announced on June 3, 2010, that Lehmkuhl and boyfriend, model Rodiney Santiago had joined the cast of Logo"s reality series, The A-List: New New York
The low-rated series, frequently described as a "Real Housewives"-style show, was cancelled after two seasons. Since the airing, Lehmkuhl and Santiago are no longer a couple.