Thom Filicia reveals he was a bone marrow donor for his brother

Queer Eye star Thom Filicia secretly competed on the second season of RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race. 

Reuniting with his Queer Eye for the Straight Guy costar Carson Kressley, Filicia was competing for more than a drag reunion. He was trying to raise $5,000 to support the Bone Morrow and Cancer foundation. 

Thom has a personal connection to the cause: he was a bone marrow donor for his brother, he said on the show. 

‘My brother was diagnosed with myelofibrosis, an uncommon type of bone marrow cancer,’ Filicia, 53, he said after being eliminated from the VH1 competition show on last Friday’s episode. 

Filicia recalls the fateful day of when his brother’s illness began.   

‘He was out in the Hamptons, paddle boarding with one of his two daughters, cut his foot, and the next thing you knew he was in the hospital because it wouldn’t stop bleeding. It was there that he learned he was sick.’

Finding a match can be difficult, but Filicia’s brother was lucky. 

‘Within three weeks, I was identified as his bone marrow donor — which is very unlikely to find a family member who is a match —and I was an exact match, which is even more unlikely,’ Filicia recalls. ‘So we went on that journey together.’

A good heart: Reuniting with his Queer Eye for the Straight Guy costar Carson Kressley, Filicia was competing for more than a drag reunion. He was trying to raise $5,000 to support the Bone Morrow and Cancer foundation. Thom has a personal connection to the cause: he was a bone marrow donor for his brother, he said on the show

He looks good in drag! Thom wore a bright red wig with a criss-cross style outfit

‘He was on the brink of his final days if this didn’t go well, and I didn’t hesitate to help,’ Filicia added.

‘My brother is an amazing man. He has a wife, two daughters — he had a lot of reasons to live. And anything I could do, I was glad to do.’

Today, Filicia’s brother is healthy, and the two are as close as ever. ‘He lives in New York City and has a house in the Hamptons, so we see one another often,’ Filicia says. ‘We went on that journey together, and it’ll forever bond us.’

Filicia performed solo fabulousness as Jackie Would, his big-haired alter ego on ‘RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race.’ But, plans to keep his alto ego in the closest for now. 

Family first: ‘My brother was diagnosed with myelofibrosis, an uncommon type of bone marrow cancer,’ Filicia, 53, he said after being eliminated from the VH1 competition show on last Friday’s episode

He stepped in: Finding a match can be difficult, but Filicia’s brother was lucky. ‘Within three weeks, I was identified as his bone marrow donor — which is very unlikely to find a family member who is a match —and I was an exact match, which is even more unlikely,’ Filicia recalls. ‘So we went on that journey together’ 

‘I’m like that suburban housewife taking a painting class. I’m not looking to sell my art at a gallery in SoHo. I’m gonna give this to my kids, and they’re probably gonna put it in their basements. I’m gonna try my hardest. But you have a tour bus. Let’s read the room. Jackie’s days are numbered.’ 

And, surprising his friend on the drag show was all fun and games. 

‘Carson and I, we’ve been on so many crazy fun journeys together, it was fun to add drag to the list,’ Filica says. ‘I knew surprising him was going to be hilarious.’ 

RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on VH1. 

The show that made him famous: Filicia was on Queer Eye For The Straight Guy