Watch: 'The Bachelor' Star Colton Underwood Comes Out as Gay
During the 23rd season of "The Bachelor" Colton Underwood posed in a pic that echoed the promo for the series that recreated the poster for Judd Apatow's "The Forty Year Old Virgin," along with the phrase, "what does he have to lose?" So much so that Apatow re-tweeted it.
"Sex — and lack thereof — has been a constant theme throughout this season," wrote Refinery29 in March, 2020, "whether Underwood, 26, is poking fun at himself or explaining his decision to wait to his 30 women. (ICYMI, he's not saving himself for marriage, he's just waiting for the right person.)"
Or, as it turns out, a person of the same sex. On "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, April 14, he told Robin Roberts he is gay.
"This year's been a lot for a lot of people and it's probably made a lot of people look at themselves in the year and figure out who they are," Underwood said. "I've ran from myself for a long time, I've hated myself for a long time. I'm gay. I came to terms with that earlier this year, and the next step in all of this was sort of letting people know. I'm the happiest and healthiest I've ever been in my life. That means the world to me."
He also regrets not having done so sooner. "I've had sort of a range of responses and the underlying most common was 'I wish you would have told me sooner' and when I hear that I wish I would have had faith in my friends and family a little bit more," Underwood said. "The only reason I'm sitting down with you today is because I have the love and support of my friends and my family."
Underwood sexuality became suspect on the show after announcing his virginity, so much so that one contestant confronted him about it in a one-on-one. "That's just so weird. That just doesn't happen nowadays," she said in a confessional — straight-up asked him, "Why?"
"He first appeared on the franchise during the 2018 cycle of 'The Bachelorette' prior to his elimination, Underwood revealed to star Becca Kufrin and millions of viewers that he was a virgin, citing his Christian values." The Hollywood Reporter writes. "He later appeared on summer spinoff series 'Bachelor in Paradise' before going on to lead his own cycle, where the franchise's first virgin star would divulge more about how his past relationships impacted the personal choice. He dated Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman before beginning his three-part stint on the franchise."
On "The Bachelor" he broke protocol by pursuing contestant Cassie Randolph after she quit the competition after realizing she didn't want to be engaged. She returned to the show after Underwood assured her that he would not propose and the two began a year-and-a-half relationship.
But his relationship with Randolph proved problematic after he was accused of stalking her last year. "On September 11, 2020, Randolph filed a restraining order against Underwood, alleging that he stalked her outside her Los Angeles apartment and her parents' Huntington Beach house, that he sent harassing text messages using an anonymous number, and that he installed a tracking device underneath her car," TMZ reported.
"As for his time on the Bachelor franchise, Roberts asked him to address people who feel that he misled the women and the public," writes THR.
"Do I regret being the Bachelor and do I regret handling it the way I did? I do. I do think I could have handled it better," he said. "I just wish I wouldn't have dragged people into my own mess of figuring out who I was, I genuinely mean that."
He also apologized to Randolph.
"I messed up. I made a lot of bad choices," he said. "I loved everything about her. And that only made it harder and more confusing for me." He added, "I'm sorry for the pain and emotional stress I caused. I wish it wouldn't have happened the way it did. I wish that I would have been courageous enough to fix myself before I broke anybody else."
He also addressed the emotional roller-coaster he's been on, one that has brought him to a safe place. Though it wasn't always that way. "There was a moment in L.A. that I woke up and I didn't think I was going to wake up. I didn't have the intentions of waking up. And I did. And for me, I think that was my wake up call of, 'This is your life. Take back control.'" Of those thoughts, he now shared, "I don't feel that anymore."
"This year's been a lot for a lot of people and it's probably made a lot of people look at themselves in the year and figure out who they are," Underwood said. "I've ran from myself for a long time, I've hated myself for a long time. I'm gay. I came to terms with that earlier this year, and the next step in all of this was sort of letting people know. I'm the happiest and healthiest I've ever been in my life. That means the world to me."
He also regrets not having done so sooner. "I've had sort of a range of responses and the underlying most common was 'I wish you would have told me sooner' and when I hear that I wish I would have had faith in my friends and family a little bit more," Underwood said. "The only reason I'm sitting down with you today is because I have the love and support of my friends and my family."
Underwood sexuality became suspect on the show after announcing his virginity, so much so that one contestant confronted him about it in a one-on-one. "That's just so weird. That just doesn't happen nowadays," she said in a confessional — straight-up asked him, "Why?"