Speaking his truth. Season 23 Bachelor Colton Underwood came out as gay on Wednesday, April 14, and Bachelor Nation has nothing but love for him. Colton, who starred as the lead of ABC’s reality TV dating show in 2019, went public with his sexuality in an interview with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts.

“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,” he 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.”

Colton, who split from his Bachelor winner Cassie Randolph in 2020, also referenced a “dark” place he was in because of his mixed feelings about his sexuality. “I got into a place with my personal life that was dark, and bad, and I can list a bunch of different things, but they’d all be excuses,” he said. “I think overall, the reason why now is because I got to a place where I didn’t think I was ever going to share this I don’t, I would have rather died than, say, I’m gay. I think that was sort of my wake-up call.”

Colton made his Bachelor Nation debut on season 14 of The Bachelorette with Becca Kufrin, where he was eliminated in fourth place. He went on to star on season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise before he was named the season 23 Bachelor and became the franchise’s first virgin Bachelor. In his finale, Colton chose Cassie as winner. The couple, who didn’t get engaged, continued to date until their breakup in May 2021. In September 2020, Cassie filed a restraining order against Colton after accusing him of stalking her. (She dropped the restraining order in November 2020.) “I would like to say sorry for how things ended,” Colton told Cassie in his interview with Roberts. “I messed up. I made a lot of bad choices.”

Since his Good Morning America interview, many members of Bachelor Nation—including fans, producers and Colton’s Bachelor exes—have expressed their support for him. Ahead is how Colton Underwood’s Bachelor exes reacted to him coming out as gay.

Nicole Lopez-Alvar

Source: Instagram

Nicole, who was eliminated in 11th place on Colton’s Bachelor season, took to her Instagram Story on April 14 to share a message of support for her ex. “I’m proud of you for speaking your truth @ColtonUnderwood,” she wrote, along with a prayer hands emoji. The caption was written over a regram of a quote from Colton’s coming out interview on Good Morning America. 

“I’ve ran from myself for a long time. I’ve hated myself for a long time. And I’m gay. And I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it,” the quote read.

Bachelor Producers

In a statement to Page Six on April 14, the executive producers for The Bachelor expressed how “inspired” they were by Colton’s story. “We are so inspired by Colton Underwood’s courage to embrace and pursue his authentic self,” the statement read. The official Bachelor Instagram also shared Colton’s Good Morning America on their Instagram Story. “Check out this exclusive interview with former Bachelor Colton Underwood,” the account wrote.

Chris Harrison

Source: Instagram

Bachelor host Chris Harrison took to his Instagram on April 14 to share a message of how “proud” he is of Colton. “Very proud of you today @coltonunderwood Happy to see you stand up and openly live your truth. You have my love and support my friend,” Harrison captioned a photo of him and Colton.

The Bachelor is available to stream on Hulu.

Image: Courtesy of Penguin Books.

Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman

To get more of an inside scoop, check out Los Angeles Times writer Amy Kaufman’s book, Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure, for a deep dive into the Bachelor franchise. The book uncovers the secrets of Bachelor Nation, from how much the Bachelor and the Bachelorette are paid to the rules contestants have to follow, that producers don’t want fans to know. It’s a must-read for any Bachelor Nation member.

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