Derek Hartley

Derek Hartley (born October 28, 1969) is an American talk show host, who co-hosts the weekday paid subscriber-only internet radio show and podcast Derek and Romaine 2.0 and who previously served as co-host of its forerunner Derek and Romaine Show, a talk radio show that aired on SiriusXM Satellite Radio's Gay/Lesbian channel, OutQ. The show had a national audience with a potential reach of 18,000,000 listeners. The show could also be heard worldwide on the internet similar to the new show format. He serves as emcee/host of LGBT events around the country. In 2018 he was credited for writing Hurricane Bianca: From Russia with Hate.

Early life and career Hartley was born at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He is the oldest of five siblings, all with different last names: Tiffany White, Adam Forgie, Alyssa Naley and Zach Millom. A military brat, he lived in several states before the age of four. He attended kindergarten in Utah and first through third grades in Sebastopol, California at Apple Blossom Elementary School.

His parents divorced and Hartley and his sister divided their time and school years between California and Utah. Between fourth and ninth grade, he attended almost a dozen different schools. He graduated from Alhambra High School in Alhambra, California in 1987 and attended the California State University at Los Angeles.

Hartley joined PlanetOut.com in May 1996 as a volunteer in the PopcornQ area on America Online. He hosted online celebrity interviews for PlanetOut on AOL in 1996 and 1997. In March 1997, he created FantasyMan Island, The show launched in April 2003 as a three-hour talk show airing from 6 to 9pm ET each weekday. Later the show was expanded to four hours from 6 to 10pm ET. Guests on the show have included: Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, Meredith Vieira, Charo, Olivia Newton-John, Samuel L. Jackson, k.d. lang and Jenna Jameson.

In 2007 Derek Hartley was nominated for a GayVN Award for Best Non-Sex Performance in the film Big Rig by COLT Studio Group and the following year hosted the ceremonies.

Sirius XM cancelled Derek & Romaine on June 17, 2015.

Hartley cowrote the screenplay for the 2018 comedy film Hurricane Bianca 2: From Russia with Hate.