Colton Underwood was “in a relationship” with a “married straight man” before appearing on the “Bachelor” series.
“To protect myself, I only have relationships with married men.[Married]’straight’ men,” he explained during an appearance on the We Need To Talk podcast on Tuesday.
“So that was kind of my rule that I never broke. When I was in the closet, the only time I would have a relationship with a guy was if they were married…because they had more to lose than me.
“Even when I was experimenting with men and trying to understand myself, I was very cautious,” Underwood explained, noting that he did so because he was afraid of being found out as gay.
“So if they were to try to ruin my career and my football career, they would be putting their entire family at risk,” Underwood continued. “So, it’s kind of messed up when you think about it, but it was like a form of self-preservation…a way to protect yourself.”
The former NFL player joined Bachelor Nation on Becca Kufrin’s season of “The Bachelorette” and became a “Bachelor” in 2019.
He was dubbed the first “Virgin Bachelor” while his season as the lead was promoted on ABC.
“I remember being asked all the time why I was a virgin. I mean, that was the storyline they wanted to do and I hated it, because I didn’t want that pressure. And I didn’t want people digging into it either, because at the time I was in a relationship with a man,” he admitted.
But the reality star insisted she never intended for her fake virginity to become so central to the story.
“I knew deep down that no matter what, I wasn’t going to reveal to them that I was a virgin,” he recalls. “One night on ‘The Bachelorette’ I literally told them I was a virgin.”
“I opened it right away and gave them everything they liked,” he continued. “Unfortunately, that’s how it turned out, and that became my whole story.”
The “Traitors” alum also said he accepted the “Bachelor” role because he believed it would “force” him to follow a traditional path that was acceptable to his faith and family.
“What I was saying to myself was, ‘This is going to force me[to become straight],'” he said. “Now that I am openly heterosexual, I will never be able to be gay again.”
Underwood previously admitted in an interview with Variety that she had relationships with married men before appearing on the dating show, but clarified at the time that she did not have sex with them.
“I say ‘sex,’ not sex,” Underwood told the outlet. “I just want to be clear: I’ve never had sex with a man before.”
After The Bachelor season ended, Underwood dated contestant Cassie Randolph from March 2019 to May 2020. After they broke up, Randolph accused Underwood of stalking and harassing her.
Randolph was granted a temporary restraining order, but later requested it be revoked, with Underwood explaining at the time that she had addressed Randolph’s concerns and reached a “private agreement.”
Underwood came out as gay in April 2021 in an emotional sit-down interview with Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America.”
He married Jordan C. Brown in March 2023, and their first child was born via surrogate the following year.
