Colton Underwood is gay.
The former ‘Bachelor’ came out to Robin Roberts in a ‘Good Morning America’ interview that aired Wednesday morning.
“I ran away from myself a long time ago,” the 29-year-old said in the pre-recorded interview. “I have hated myself for a long time. I approved and processed it earlier this year, and the next step in it all was to let people know. ‘
Underwood, who realized at the age of 6 that he was ‘different’, said he was now ‘the happiest and healthiest’ he ever was, but admitted that he found himself in a ‘dark and bad place’ before he realized his truth.
“In general, the reason I’m now getting to a place where I would rather die than to say I’m gay, ‘he continued.
The former NFL player has implied that he even attempted suicide.
“There was a moment in LA that I woke up, and I did not think I was going to wake up,” he shared. “I did not intend to wake up. I think that was my wake-up call for me. ‘
Underwood was last linked with ‘Bachelor’ contestant Cassie Randolph, who issued a restraining order against him last year. The couple met on season 23 of the ABC meet program.
During the GMA interview, Underwood apologized directly to Randolph.
“I want to say sorry for how things ended,” he said. “I was confused. I made a lot of bad choices. ”
Underwood admitted he was in love with Randolph, which made his sexuality difficult.
“It made it more confusing to me,” he said. “I loved everything about her. … I wish it would have been brave enough to correct myself before I broke someone else. ‘
The couple first broke up in 2019 when they realized they were “not communicating” but learning to work on the issues and get back together.
They divorced again in 2020, but the outline took a dark turn. Months later, Randolph filed and received a restraining order against Underwood after she claimed he was stalking her.
Randolph, 25, alleges Underwood put a tracking device on her car and sent “disturbing” text messages. She eventually submitted a police report on the alleged tracker.
She dropped the restriction in November.
“The two of us were able to reach a private agreement to address any of Cassie’s concerns,” Underwood subsequently told TMZ. “I do not believe Cassie did anything wrong when she submitted the restraining order and I also believe that she acted in good faith. I appreciate everyone’s respect for privacy regarding this matter. ”
Underwood also apologized to the women he hurt by even appearing on ‘The Bachelor’.
‘Am I sorry I’m The Bachelor’? Am I sorry I handled it the way I did? I do. I think I could handle it better, ”he admits. “I just wish I hadn’t dragged people into the mess to find out who I was.
“… But I can sit here and say that I’m sorry for all the women, and I can also say thank you, because without them and without ‘The Bachelor’ franchise, I do not know if it would have come out. ‘
Underwood, who admitted that he thanked God for getting him into The Bachelor because it means he was ‘straight’, appeared in 2018 for the first time on Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette.