Where is Alison McCrary now? 'Queer Eye's Fab Five helps demisexual ex-nun get back into dating pool after 15 years
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA: Alison McCrary is a Social Justice Movement Lawyer and works as Executive Director of Mission Mycelium. She was a former nun who lived with hundreds of Catholic nuns.
She currently applies her previous experience to her social movement efforts. On Instagram, she expressed gratitude for the opportunity to appear on 'Queer Eye.'
She commented, "I hope the episode inspires people to care for themselves, to have the courage to make big life changes even when it’s hard, and to be vulnerable. I pray that it touches peoples’ hearts and minds."
"Filming Queer Eye was one of the most vulnerable things I’ve ever done," Alison told Tudum. After a week with the Fab Five, the former nun turned social justice champion has learned to "see vulnerability as a strength" and "receive love, help, and support" from those around her.
"When I’m a healthier version of myself in all of the ways, I’m able to be more present and to support others more meaningfully," she said.
Alison has embodied it via her ongoing work as a nonprofit consultant and social movement strategist on causes such as criminal justice reform, environmental justice, and the abolition of the death penalty, among others.
Alison has now launched Mission Mycelium, an organization dedicated to social justice and spirituality, and has written a biography about her experiences as a Southerner in these fields.
Nurturing her artistic, religious, and professional hobbies has helped Alison gain confidence, especially after receiving therapy with Tan France and Jonathan van Ness.
"It’s still a challenge for me to invest time, money, or effort into physical appearance, and I have learned that it helps me feel better about myself when I do, even if just occasionally or in little ways," she said.
Is 'Queer Eye' Season 8 hero Alison McCrary dating anyone?
The rise in confidence has also had a great influence on her dating life, as she is now more focused on having fun rather than overanalyzing everything.
"I’m still single and on the journey of dating to possibly find a life partner, and [so I’m] thinking a lot about relationships, our intimacy needs as humans, and the importance of community and many ways of relating to each other that we have," she said.
And, due to Antoni Porowski, the demisexual ex-nun now feels considerably more at ease in social settings such as bars, where she may choose to have a drink on a date.
"I remain truly grateful for this experience," Alison added. "I hope to inspire others to live a life of service and social justice that is spiritually grounded while caring well for themselves and cultivating meaningful relationships to support them along life’s journey."
Why did 'Queer Eye' Season 8 hero Alison McCrary quit as a nun?
Alison, who resides in New Orleans' Gentilly district, was 40 years old when the filming began. She is a lawyer who focuses on social justice and human rights.
She is a highly qualified attorney, but she feels like she went through life backward because she began the process of becoming a sister at the age of 25.
Furthermore, she quit her life as a Catholic sister in 2020, at the age of 38, because "we make vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience, but I would like to have a long-term relationship with someone, someone who knows me on a really deep level."
Alison was nominated by her best friend from church, Miss Deedy.
'Queer Eye' Season 8 hero and former Catholic nun Alison McCrary is now a Social justice lawyer
Alison is an Ani-Yun-Wiya United Cherokee Nation tribal citizen, a lawyer in the social justice movement, a Catholic activist, a restorative justice practitioner, and a popular international speaker on social justice, spirituality, and freedom.
Alison is now the Practitioner-In-Residence at Wake Forest University's School of Divinity, a Spiritual Advisor on Louisiana's death row, and a Movement Capacity Building Strategist for about 50 charities managed by formerly imprisoned persons in the United States.
She previously worked as the Statewide Campaign Manager for the Unanimous Jury Coalition, which abolished a 138-year-old Jim Crow law in Louisiana, the founding Director of the Louisiana Re-Entry Mediation Program, the Executive Director of the National Police Accountability Project, President of the Louisiana Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and the Founding Director of the New Orleans Community-Police Mediation.
As a Soros Justice Advocacy Fellow in New Orleans in 2010, she questioned and altered policing tactics and regulations to transform interactions between police officers and indigenous cultural traditions in the city.
She works on criminal justice reform, environmental justice, immigrant rights, international human rights, cultural preservation, voting rights, disaster recovery, and housing rights, as well as supporting various social justice movements and organizations on a local, national, and international level.
Prior to attending law school, she worked at the Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana, where she provided litigation support in death sentence cases, and at the United Nations, where she monitored the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions on women, peace, and security.
'Queer Eye' Season 8 is currently streaming on Netflix in its entirety.