Former Bachelor star Colton Underwood came out as gay during a sit down interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America this morning.
Like so many people, Underwood did a lot of soul searching over the last year, which helped him to accept his sexuality.
“I’ve ran from myself for a long time, I’ve hated myself for a long time. I’m gay,” the 29-year-old revealed. “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.”
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Much of Underwood’s struggle with accepting his true identity came from his religious upbringing.
“I learned in the Bible that gay is a sin,” he told Roberts. “I don’t feel that anymore.”
“I literally remember praying to God, the morning I found out that I was a bachelor, and thanking him for making me straight. I remember that vividly, saying ‘Finally, you’re letting me be straight. Finally, you’re giving me a wife, a fiancée, that I’m gonna have the kids, gonna have the house.’”
Speculation about his sexuality has been going on for a while now. In 2019, Billy Eichner jokingly told him during an interview that he should “look into” the possibility of gay, teasing, “Maybe you’re the first gay Bachelor, and we don’t even know!”
The panic in Colton Underwood… every gay has felt this pic.twitter.com/xB0GJPiFFm
— Ryan Schocket (@RyanSchocket) April 14, 2021
In March 2020, Underwood told People that there was a time he thought he might be gay after school bullies taunted him about it, but he believed he was just “super insecure.”
“It was one of those things where you hear something so often, you start believing it,” he said. “I thought, maybe I am gay. … I didn’t know who I was.”
Then in August 2020, he went on to the Reality Steve podcast to declare he is not, in fact, gay, saying: “The bottom line is I’m not gay. I have love and support for anybody in the LGBT+ community and support that, and love is love, at the end of the day.”
Today, Underwood says he has accepted his truth and he has the full support of his family.
“I’ve had sort of a range of responses and the underlying most common was ‘I wish you would have told me sooner’,” he told Roberts.
“When I hear that I wish I would have had faith in my friends and family a little bit more. The only reason I’m sitting down with you today is because I have the love and support of my friends and my family.”
Watch.
Cam
Any time I see sombody like this guy who is supposedly a virgin, 30 years old, good looking and has the line of “I’m really religious and just haven’t met the right girl yet” you can pretty much assume that there will be a coming out sometime.
Mormon guys back from their missions at age 20 will marry the wrong girl to get laid, same with evangelicals straight guys.
This guy’s story was the same one you saw with people like Clay Aiken or Tim Tebow “Oh, he’s religious and a gentleman and just waiting for the right woman.
Clay came out, Tebow hasn’t but I doubt anybody would be surprised.
alvera34s
I’m looking for a lover for one night or more… My nude photos and videos here – xmeet.fun
Chrisk
This could’ve all been avoided if he just came out as bi or some non label dude like they or them. Seems to be accepted trend these days and gets you lots of likes too.
Kidding of course and good for him.
Donston
The dude definitely seemed to have some insecurities concerning his sexuality/where he was in the gender, romantic, sexual, affection, emotion, commitment spectrum. From the hyper religious background, to the whining about randoms calling him “gay”, to how awkward he came off in the clips I saw of The Bachelor, to the obvious need to show off being so into women on a reality TV show, to the stereotypical “queer” signifiers. The messiness was obvious. But it wasn’t my business.
This is also someone who wrote a book where a decent amount of it was apparently about how “not gay” he was. His ex girlfriend accused him of stalking her and putting a tracking device in her car. He used his “straightness” to get a prime gigs on reality TV. He was being rather tactless and borderline homophobic when he was expressing to the media how “not gay” he was. And this was all in the past year. So, there’s clearly still some messiness and instability there. But hopefully, he can be the basic white “gay” he was always meant to be.
Cam
The interesting part was that he was so terrified over the religion, but apparently all of the religious people in his life he was terrified to tell were ok with it.
Then again, he was 30 years old, supposedly a virgin, never married and had been called gay before so many they’d come to terms with it over the last decade.
Kieran
You sound like a racist.
Joshooeerr
Those religious people who are “okay with it” now were most likely spewing homophobia on a daily basis before they knew one of their own was gay. It’s amazing how those “deeply held” beliefs can be ditched when reality bites.
Lobeskc
“White gay” really? Why make a general statement like that? Why infuse race into this? What difference does it make?
Jim
Wasn’t the poor boy getting enough attention?
Reality! What a concept.
Donston
Also, the “coming out” just had to be a televised GMA interview. There’s a lot with this dude and how he’s handled things that doesn’t sit right in my spirit. He used being a pretty boy who was “straight” and a virgin for attention. Now, he has to use his apparent “gay-ness”.
I just hope he’s learned from all his messiness and is in decent place mentally.
Donston
Supposedly, he already has a deal with Netflix to do a show about his “coming out”. Gus Kenworthy is gonna be his guide into “gayness”. If it’s not one scam or reach for attention, it’s another.
I’m trying to give him the benefit. But it’s not looking too good. Either way, it’s whatever. Not like I was invested in him before or after “coming out”. And not like I suddenly start like folks just because they are “gay” identifying or appear overall homo-leaning.
Harley
I would lay a bet his mouth lost its virginity a long time ago.
roiboihoutx
Ahhhhhh! I loves it! Ooooh, I doo’s! I know that’s right, baby! Oooh, Lords. You show is a funny little ole thing, ain’t cha?! You know he be liking that weine! Ok??!!
Miles
Good for him for coming out and he is brave for doing it on national television when so many choose a written format.
Fahd
He’s very pretty, and I don’t have a chance, but I still think it best to refrain from judging him. He seems to be clean living,and with his soap opera name and looks, I’m sure he will wind up landing on his feet in a great and blissful relationship.
linedrive
Very sweet comment. May we all find our own great and blissful relationship.
roiboihoutx
Girrrrllll, you is too damn sweets, ain’t ya?! Just wishing loves upons the whole wide world! I trust in you Sister Sledge, I know you want to make the world a better place! I adore you something firece sister, girl, hon, hons! Your so cute, just wishing the world the best, you go Diva Supreme Queen, or shall I say, Queen of Hearts?!
James26
I definitely don’t watch The Bachelor and I don’t really know much about this guy. But he seems pretty chill and normal, so it’s good that figured himself out and he came out.
roiboihoutx
Wait….like what?! What the hell?! Where am I?! Wait….what is this? What are we even talking about? Dude, what?
Prinny
Who?
Terrycloth
I only know of him from clips shown on talk shows he was on after the bachelor..I’m gay never had an interest in watching some guy playing tonsil hockey with 30 different women & watchimg them cry over him…im.sure now that he came out & on national TV I’m sure his phone won’t stop ringing & guys will line up for a date…not my type.im glad he can finally be his true self…I wish him happiness
Jere
I wonder if he was indeed a virgin when he was advertised as “The Virgin Bachelor?” I thought that that hook was a little crass and needlessly embarrassing at the time (I don’t watch the show, but it’s hard to avoid completely), but, in retrospect, with the breaking of this news, it was a brilliant feat of misdirection to cover his awkwardness with women and a lack of the usual sexual shenanigans. I suppose he was actually a virgin, in a very narrow sense of the word, if he had not had sex with a woman, even if he’d done everything possible with another man.
ryanss
Who cares?
ShiningSex
Hahahahaha!!! Saw this a mile away!!!
He came off gay.
Not news. What’s insulting is his comment about “so far not being able to emotionally connect with a man”. Girl sit down!
Who gives a sh*t about this reality queen?
James26
Stop misgendering people.
Prowelsh56
HONESTLY AND THIS WAS A SURPRISE TO WHOM?
avesraggiana
Cue Tim Tebow.
Itsonlythetruth
The Bible never mentions the words gay or homosexual. People like to pick and choose what they think the Bible says when they need “proof” to justify their hate.
SFMike
From being a straight media whore making money off of being sexually attractive to being a gay media whore is not much of a stretch but a this is the way he makes his living. Still hot as hell though so it’s hard to dislike him.
gabbym
A nobody who tries one gimmick after another on his road to 15 minutes of fame
Doesnt surprise me in the least. 90% of those “so called bachelors” are probably gay and use the show as a stepping stone to acting and modeling. My opinion is “here today…gone tomorrow”.
spunkfunker
Well I do declare! I have to get to my fainting couch to receive this shocking news! Also breaking: water is wet, Trump lies, and fat orange cat likes lasagna!
trojanboy
Yeah. Next.
Kieran
So nauseating that gay men are now expected to apologize to hetro women for involving them in their “mess” . Reality check: Privileged heterosexuals should be apologizing to the Colton Underwoods of the world for failing so miserably to deconstruct the homophobia that pervades all aspects of this planet. When homophobia has been stamped out completely, then we can talk about gay men apologizing for trying to be hetero-normative. Until that time, you have nothing to apologize for Colton.
Young Timer
“I thought, maybe I am gay. … I didn’t know who I was.”
Excuse me.. WTF?
I knew I was gay when I was six years old.
Honey, you’ve always been gay. You just thought like most blue-eyed white boys, “maybe if I just hang out with straight dudes, they’ll rub off on me.”
Rock Hudson thought like that, but everybody else knew better.
linedrive
Glad it was so easy for you. It’s difficult for some.
Kieran
@Young Timer: “Rock Hudson thought like that, but everybody else knew better.”
What are you talking about? Most people had no idea that Rock Hudson was gay.
IanHunter
I called this when he hopped the fence. Good for him. He is coming out with a Netflix reality series. Been spotted with Gus Kenworthy.
nylatinstud
I’m Gay, where’s my national interview? Do we all get one now?
BoomerMyles
Butch, cute and white.
He’ll ride this publicity horse far.
Kieran
Let’s hope so. Colton Underwood is a great representative for the gay community. We certainly don’t need more of the swish. We’ve had more than enough of that.
linedrive
Predictably, the nastiest reactions to this young man’s announcement are from the gay “community”. The comments section on this site is just depressing sometimes.
Kieran
Gay self-hatred is real unfortunately. You can see so many of the commenters here are just miserable, desperately unhappy people.
winemaker
Well surprise, surprise, surprise. In the famous words of Gomer Pyle USMC aka Jim Nabors who also happens to be gay. Who among us who watched Coltpn’s season of the ‘Bachelor’ knew all along Colton was gay? ABC got thrown a ringer here. Hope he’s happy and no longer living his untruth. Living a lie wreaks lots of stress and leads to an unhappy life. Welcome to the family Colton, good having ya.
roiboihoutx
Ok, here goes my takes on thangs, boo-boos! I thinks he a cute little ole gay christian boys! He is though, ain’t he? Yep, he a cutie, dats fo show! But, he doesn’t deserve to EVEN be alive, due to the facts that lied to all of us, that little ole whining brat PUNKED us, we All got played like a fine tuned fiddle, as he LIED to our faces! I don’t knows what you guys be thinking, but…. NOPE! Ain’t NOBODY gone punk my fat ass! So, it’s ON! I guess dere is gone to be a little ole price to pay!