ABC / Craig Sjodin
Colton Underwood sat down with Robin Roberts to “reveal his truth.” In the pre-recorded interview on Good morning America on Wednesday, the former bachelor explained that last year he admitted what he has known for a long time about himself.
“Obviously, this year has been very introspective for a lot of people and it’s probably made a lot of people look in the mirror and realize who they are or what they’ve been running away from,” Underwood said. “In my case, I’ve run away from myself for a long time. I’ve hated myself for a long time.”
“I’m gay,” he continued. “And I accepted that earlier this year and I’ve been processing it.”
Underwood’s announcement marks the first time anyone has come out of the closet in The Baccalaureate. The former football player left the franchise dating Cassie Randolph. However, shortly after their separation last year, she filed a restraining order against Underwood for harassment. The ex-partner later reached an agreement and she dismissed the order.
“I went into a place for myself in my personal life that was dark and bad and I can list a lot of different things, but they would all be excused,” the former contestant explained. Graduate in Paradise. “Before I would have preferred to die to say ‘I’m gay’.”
ONLY: Former “bachelor” star @Colton Underwood tells his truth and comes out @robinroberts: “I’m gay. And I agreed earlier this year and I’ve been processing it … I’m the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever had in my life.” https://t.co/PoYJUAPBpA pic.twitter.com/isP7SptUu7
– Good Morning America (@GMA) April 14, 2021
He added, “I can sit here and say I’m sorry for all these women. I can also thank them because without them and without the Bachelor franchise I don’t know if this would have ever come out of the closet.”
As Underwood explained, he first realized he was gay when he was a kid, but he could only really understand it as a freshman in high school.
He explained, “And by that time I had already grown up in the Catholic Church. I went to Catholic elementary school. I had learned in the Bible that homosexuality is a sin.”
However, he now thanks his family and friends for taking this step.
While he admits to having received a variety of responses, “the most common underlying was ‘I wish you had told me before.’ And when I heard that, I thought I had little more trust with friends and family.”
Roberts revealed that his father was with him in the interview. “My father said to me, ‘I wish you had trusted me before.’ Then he said, ‘How can I help you? Who can I tell you?’ And for me, that was more meaningful. that a ‘I love you’ “.
Underwood admitted to having suicidal thoughts
When Roberts asked Underwood if he ever thought about self-harm, he admitted he had suicidal thoughts.
“There was a time in Los Angeles when I woke up and I didn’t think I was going to wake up. I didn’t want to wake up,” she said through tears. “And I think for me this was a wake-up call to regain control.”
He added, “Sometimes I would drive my car near a cliff and say to myself, ‘If I fall off the cliff, it’s not that important.’ Now I don’t think about that anymore.”
Underwood apologized to Randolph after a “tumultuous” separation
After their separation, Randolph filed a restraining order against Underwood for harassment, because he was patrolling his and his parents’ house and even placed a tracker in his car, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.
Underwood acknowledged his mistakes and apologized, “I’d like to apologize for how things ended. I was wrong, I made a lot of bad decisions,” he said.
When Roberts asked her about her, she revealed that she loved him. “That just made it harder and more confusing for me. If I’m very honest, I love it,” he explained. “It’s hard for me to know exactly what my emotions were towards her and why I obviously had a big internal dilemma.”
He reiterated: “I would just say I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart. I’m sorry for the pain and emotional stress I caused. I wish it hadn’t happened the way it did. I wish I had been brave enough to recover sooner. to bankrupt someone else “.
