'DWTS' Champ Nyle DiMarco Is 'Very Open' to Having Kids, Would Be Happy If They Were Deaf

Photo: Tiffany Saccente

Nyle DiMarco isn’t sure if he’s going to have a family of his own yet, but if the model, producer and deaf activist winds up having kids, he’s certain of one thing: “Obviously the most important thing is a healthy child, but if they were deaf, I’d celebrate twice as hard!”

TheAmerica’s Next Top ModelandDancing with the Starswinner, 32, details his own experience growing up in an all-deaf family in his new bookDeaf Utopia: A Memoir— and a Love Letter to a Way of Life,out April 19.

“My parents embrace deaf culture,” DiMarco tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “Most people assume deaf parents want hearing children; in fact the opposite is true. It’s a positive celebration for us.”

For more from Nyle DiMarco, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.

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DiMarco and his family have always communicated with ASL, which he had been taught from birth.

“Growing up in the deaf community, I never saw myself as different,” he says. “Until I went to a mainstream public school in fifth grade. When weeks of trying to get to know people turned into months, I got really antsy. It was difficult.”

Now, DiMarco who started his own production company in 2020, is determined to continue breaking barriers for the deaf community.

He producedDeaf U— a Netflix reality series that follows the lives of deaf and hard of hearing students at Gallaudet University, his D.C. alma mater — and the documentary shortAudiblehe produced was just nominated for an Oscar.

source: people.com