After Parents Disowned Her, Queer Eye Fans Raise $90K

When a GoFundMe was set up for Jess Guilbeaux, the goal of $100,000 for the 23-year-old—whose story of being disowned by her adoptive parents after they discovered she was gay appeared on Netflix's third season of Queer Eye—seemed far off. Now that crowdfunding initiative has reached more than $94,000 as of Tuesday, and the "strong, black lesbian woman" is ready to go back to college, which she had to leave due to her financial situation, the Wichita Eagle reports. "I have paid off all my student loans!!" Guilbeaux writes in an update over the weekend. "I'm so excited and ready to continue my education with a fresh new start."

Guilbeaux had been a computer science major at the University of Kansas before she dropped out due to her debts. Nearly 2,500 fans donated to the GoFundMe over the past three weeks to help send her back to school. "Donations came in from nearly all 50 states, including Washington, DC, and more than 25 countries and territories," a GoFundMe rep tells the Eagle. In an Instagram post on Monday, Guilbeaux notes that "the only new year’s resolution i set was to love myself and i feel unstoppable." And to everyone who contributed to her GoFundMe, which Out notes was set up by a fan, Guilbeaux adds: "Thank you so so so much for everything!" (A gay college athlete disowned by her parents saw similar generosity from strangers.)