Wynonna Earp Star Dominique Provost-Chalkley Comes Out as Queer

Wynonna Earp star Dominique Provost-Chalkley celebrated her birthday on Tuesday by coming out as queer. The actress, who plays Waverly Earp on the Syfy series, shared the news in a blog post for her organization, Start the Wave, which “focuses on building an inclusive online community that empowers individuals to find their unique path to create positive change.” She also shared the announcement on Instagram, announcing the organization’s latest page, Rainbow Waves, dedicated to coming out stories.

“At the ripe old age of 30, I have come to realize that the ‘journey to happiness’ is in fact a lifelong balance act,” Provost-Chalkley wrote.

“There is no perfect final destination, but a series of wonderful milestones we collect along the way,” she continued. “For me, these milestones appear when I take the time to observe what does and does not bring me happiness, and then have the courage to make changes in my life to align that which isn’t working. It takes a great deal of introspection, whilst staying open to evolution and change. I have to periodically check in with my values, my morals, my passions, my creativity and ultimately make sure that I’m living in alignment with my true authentic self. It certainly isn’t a walk in the park…but when I’ve had the fortune of meeting others who live from that place, I find they sparkle so very bright – like these shining stars, illuminating the way to a better, happier place and I’m drawn to join them. I am queer. I am into ALL humans. I guess maybe I am just really into love? Who knows? But finally…I am OUT.”

She also noted that playing the openly queer Waverly on Wynonna Earp helped her reevaluate herself and lead her to coming out.

“[Showrunner] Emily Andras took a chance on me and cast me as the beautifully positive bisexual representation that is Miss Waverly Earp,” she wrote. “Through this incredible, enlightening journey of playing a queer character and meeting the fans that are drawn to her, I guess I’ve reevaluated how I am to face this part of me.”

Following Provost-Chalkley’s announcement, fans flooded her social media with messages of support and love for her coming out and also overwhelmed the Start the Wave website.

“Our site has been overwhelmed with the amount of love and light you have for Dom and we know that there have been moments where the site has been down,” the site’s Twitter account announced. “We are working on getting this fixed so everyone can share in our Rainbow Waves. Hang in there. We appreciate your patience!”

And, speaking of patience, fans of Wynonna Earp will have practice a bit of that when it comes to the show’s fourth season. Last week, showrunner Emily Andras shared that production on the series had been shut down in compliance with health protocols in Alberta, Canada regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Wynonna Earp news: we are temporarily shutting down production on season 4,” Andras wrote. “We are sure this is merely a blip, but we must follow Alberta health protocols. The safety of our cast & crew is of paramount importance to us. Thank you to @SYFY & @CTVSciFI for their unwavering support.”

“To our beloved Earpers: remember that we have faced bigger challenges than this — and triumphed,” she continued. “We will be back Earping it up for you as soon as it is safe to do so. Because we are all in.”