Marcel Ruiz: "The One Day at a Time" boy grows up, goes to church, plays gay guys, shows his underwear. With Lucas butt and Jackson junk

When I was in high school, Tuesday night meant Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, and One Day at a Time (1975-84).   a "hip sitcom" with divorced mom Anne Romano (Bonnie Franklin) moving from small-town Logansport to Indianapolis to raise her kids: rebellious Julie, popular Barbara, and eventually the exceptionally femme Alex (Glenn Scarpelli).  Building handyman Schneider popped in all the time.

The theme song brings me back to those nights, sitting in the living room with my parents and brother and sister, doing my homework on a clipboard. No matter what problems I was facing outside, with screaming preachers and sadistic teachers and the constant refrain of "what girl do you like?", I was safe here.

This is it; this is life, the one you get, so go and have a ball.
This is it: straight ahead, and rest assured, you can't be sure at all.
So while you're here, enjoy the view, keep on doin' what you do.
Hang on tight, we'll muddle through -- one day at a time.

In 2017, a re-imagining appeared on Netflix, only to be cancelled, moved to Pop and TVLand, and cancelled again in 2020.  It was a re-imagining because it had nothing to do with the original series except for the title, the theme song, and characters named Alex and Schneider.  Here they are a Hispanic family living in Echo Park, Los Angeles: army nurse Lupe; social activist Elena; and popular Alex (Marcel Ruiz).  Grandma Rita Moreno pops in frequently.

I watched an episode out of curiosity, but didn't like it.  Mostly ladies; no cute guys (Todd Grinnell as Schneider was not my type). And why did they keep the name Alex but remove his gay coding?  

Besides, watching on my laptop in my home office in 2017 was just not the same as watching in the living room surrounded by my family in 1977.

Then I saw Isabella Gomez and Marcel Ruiz (who played Elena and Alex) in a video for the It Gets Better project.  Isabella talks about how Elena struggles with coming out as a queer Latinx woman, and starts dating the nonbinary Syd.  "Normalizing lesbian and nonbinary identities on tv plays an important role in creating acceptance in real life."  Marcel adds that if your family doesn't accept you, there are others who do. You can find a chosen family.  "It gets better. Just keep going through life everyday."  Not "one day at a time"?

Isabella plays a queer character, but why is Marcel there?  Alex is straight.  You're looking quite femme in that outfit, buddy. Are you gay in real life, like the original? 

Time for a profile.

Marcel was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2003.  His mother, Mariem Pérez Riera, is an Emmy-winning director known for her biography of Rita Morena (not coincidentally, grandma on One Day at a Time). His father, Carlitos Ruíz Ruíz, is a "photographer, storyteller, and filmmaker" known for Maldeamores (2007), about a love triangle.

For someone born into a family of film makers, Marcel doesn't have a lot of acting gigs listed on the IMDB.  His career starts with an episode of Snowfall (2017), a tv series about the cocaine panic in Los Angeles in the early 1980.  Damson Idris (left) stars as a drug dealer.  Marcel plays a young Sandanista operative spying on the CIA in Nicaragua. He gets killed.  

His first starring role was in Breakthrough (2019): When a boy with the crazily Anglo name John Smith (Marcel) drowns in a lake, his Mom prays that he will be brought back "from the brink of death."  Did he die or almost die?  

Josh Lucas (left) plays the boy's Dad, and Topher Grace of That 70s Show plays the megachurch pastor.  

Marcel apparently belongs to a megachurch in real life, too.

Sounds Christian, which means homophobic, but Topher Grace went on to star in Home Economics (2021-23), and Marcel, to One Day at a Time (2017-20).  Both of their characters have gay sisters.  Go figure.

 Marcel has only two post-Days roles:

A Bad Bunny music video, Baile inolvidable (Unforgettable dance, 2025).  A lot of male-female couples dance while their friends cheer them on.  

And the short Telaraña (2025) : The teenage Naomi faces the "disturbing truth" about her family, involving a giant spider (araña).  Marcel plays her brother Lolo.

Plus two upcoming projects.

Summer of Three (filming completed in 2026): After his father's death, Javi (Marcel) returns to Puerto Rico, where he becomes involved in a love triangle with Luife (Paolo Schone) and his girlfriend Kiki.  I can't tell from the plot description and photos if the two men are competing for the lady, or if it's a three-way romance. 

More after the break

The Body, premiering on Netflix in 2026, features paranormal activity and dark secrets at a Catholic girls' school.  Jackson Kelly (potential nude left) stars. Marcel is far down the cast list. 

Two of Marcel's projects aren't listed on the IMDB:

An episode of the podcast Love in Gravity (2022), which brings us LGBTQ Latinx stories.  Pop star Jules (Marcel), assigned to sing the national anthem before the big game, hooks up with star quarterback Teo (Froy Gutierrez).

In 2026, he started, Nuyo Ritmo, a band dedicated to honoring Black and Puerto Rican contributions to dance music: disco, funk, techno, and house.  Some of those have gay roots, and their premiere was held in February 2026 at Bambi's in Toronto, "known for its cutting edge music, diverse crowd, and intimate atmosphere."  It is listed in two articles about queer and queer-friendly bars.

Marcel also does modeling, in a campaign for American Eagle underwear.  He shows his belly but not the underwear itself.

Sounds like Marcel is gay, but when I checked his social media, I found a melange of girl-hugging photos.  The usual: sticking his tongue out, making duck lips, pretending to strangle, going to events together.  No boy-photos from his early teen years, where he hangs out with an unidentified guy and Gaten Matarazzo of Stranger Things.

Certainly the guy is extremely femme, wearing rings and nail polish, dressing in drag. But for men, "gay" means hugging, kissing, and going to events with guys.  

Besides, I read two articles where Marcel mentioned his support of LGBTQ people.  If he was gay or bi himself, wouldn't he mention it?  

I'm going to have to conclude that Marcel is a femme straight guy.

But at least he's an ally.  

And we still have Alex from the original One Day at a Time.  

So up on your feet -- 

Go where there's music playing
Don't you worry none, 

Just take it like it comes: One day at a time.

See also: Jackson Kelly: A killer doll, a killer pumpkin, a paranormal trap, nude Hicks, and a year of dicks

Glenn Scarpelli: the star of "One Day at a Time" and "Jennifer Slept Here" grows up, comes out, and gets a husband

One Day at a Time