Colton Underwood reflected on how he navigated his sexual orientation before officially coming out as gay. He revealed that he used to only hook up with married “straight” men. Underwood chose this type to protect himself from the potential consequences that could follow if someone ever tried to expose him publicly and ruin his career. He believed that married men had more on the line than he did, considering it a safer option.
Colton Underwood on hiding his sexuality before The Bachelor
During a conversation on the We Need to Talk podcast, Underwood shared that he was very careful while exploring his sexuality and getting physical with men. This is because he had a fear that someone might expose him, which could impact his professional life.
He said, “To protect myself, I would only hook up with married men. [Married] ‘straight’ men. So that was sort of my rule that I would never break. When I was in the closet, that would be the only time I would ever hook up with men was if they were married… because they had more to lose than I did.”
The Bachelor star added that hooking up with married men was a safer option, given that if they tried to ruin his career, they would be risking their family life, too. While he admitted that it was a “messed-up” thing to think, he claims that he did it to protect himself from any potential threat.
Now that he came out as gay in 2021, he thinks that back then, he should have showcased a more “vulnerable” side and should have voiced his thoughts on struggling with sexuality. “I think there could have been something just interesting in that conversation,” Underwood further elaborated.
Five years ago, the TV personality admitted that he was gay in an interview with Good Morning America. He said, “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. And the next step in all of this was sort of letting people know” (via BBC).
