It’s been a while since the public has heard from Colton Underwood. Shortly after a messy split with his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Randolph, which involved her filing a restraining order against him, he went radio silent on Instagram despite having 1.9 million followers. But, it seems that the former footballer is ready to speak to the public once more. On April 14, 2021, The Bachelor spoke with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America and revealed to the world that he is gay.

Fans of The Bachelor will recall that Underwood led Season 23 of the wildly popular show. After competing on Becca Kufrin’s season, he had a short stint on Bachelor in Paradise before being named as the next lead. The former athlete was marketed by the show as the “virgin” Bachelor. At the time, he insisted that the experience had simply never happened for him. However, he told Roberts that the real reason he’d abstained was because of his sexual orientation.

Colton Underwood explains why he was a virgin for so long in a GMA interview

“I fully was a virgin before that, and I could never give anybody a good enough answer about why I was a virgin,” Underwood shared about being named The Bachelor back in 2018. “The truth is I was the ‘Virgin Bachelor’ because I was gay, and I didn’t know how to handle it.”

Underwood shared that he knew he was “different” from the young age of six. But it wasn’t until freshman year of high school that he knew he was gay. However, since he grew up with religious roots and had gone to Catholic school, he was taught the being gay was a sin. He continued to fight his truth and when he was selected as The Bachelor, he thought it was a sign from God.

When Underwood received the news that he was ‘The Bachelor’ he thought it was God’s way of proving he wasn’t gay

“I literally remember praying to God the morning I found out that I was The Bachelor and thanking Him for making me straight,” Underwood recalled. “I remember that vividly, of saying, ‘Finally, you’re letting me be straight. Finally, you’re giving me a wife, a fiancée, and then I’m going to have the kids, then I’m going to have the house, and then I’m going to have all this.’”

The Bachelor didn’t end up providing Underwood with a fiancée, but he did find a girlfriend on the show. He managed to start a relationship with Randolph, who had previously quit the show, after eliminating Hannah Godwin and Tayshia Adams. The pair dated for nearly 2 years before their split. Their breakup, coupled with the pandemic, caused Underwood to really take a closer look at himself and who he truly was. So does he regret ever being The Bachelor?

Does the former footballer regret being ‘The Bachelor’?

“Do I regret being The Bachelor and handling it the way that I did?” Underwood questioned. “I do think I could have handled it better, I’ll say that. I just wish I wouldn’t have dragged people into my own mess of figuring out who I was. I genuinely mean that, but also at the same time I can say I’m sorry to all of those women, I can also say thank you, because without them and without the ‘Bachelor’ franchise, I don’t know if this would have ever come out.”

We’re sure plenty of Bachelor Nation is supportive of Underwood finally living his truth. We imagine he will continue to receive support from fans and friends alike.

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