April 16, 2021 | Arts / Entertainment

Former "Bachelor" star comes out as gay

Colton Underwood, a former pro-football player, became a reality show darling when he first appeared on Season 14 of The Bachelorette. His good looks and "I'm still a virgin" storyline caught the attention of fans and he was brought back to the dating franchise as the man looking for love in The Bachelor Season 23 in 2019. Yes, he was still promoting his "wait for sex until marriage" lifestyle.

In the final episode, he chose Cassie Randolph as his true love, but did not propose to her.

The romance was short lived and Underwood's reputation took a hit. Randolph went so far as to file a restraining order against Underwood, saying he was stalking her, and sending "unsettling text messages." She also accused him of placing a tracking device on her car.

Well, he's back. And this time, he's coming out of the closet!

This week, Underwood revealed that he was a gay man. He said his time on the show was part of his attempt to run from his true sexuality.

“I’ve ran from myself for a long time, and I’ve hated myself for a long time, and I’m gay,” he said. “I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it, and the next step in all of this was sort of letting people know.”

“Overall, the reason ’why now’ is because I got to a place where… I would’ve rather died than say I’m gay,” he added. “There was a moment in L.A. that I woke up, and I didn’t think I was going to wake up. I didn’t have the intentions of waking up. I think that for me was my wake-up call.”

He also apologized to Randolph: "I would just say that I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart. I’m sorry for the pain and emotional stress I caused. I wish it wouldn’t have happened the way it did."

His revelation comes with some added news: his new journey will be documented in a series on Netflix. Little is known about the show, but an insider revealed that Olympian Gus Kenworthy will appear as a guide for Underwood.

Hopefully he has finally found his path to happiness.