Colton Underwood is gay.
The former “Bachelor” star came to Robin Roberts in a pre-recorded “Good Morning America” interview that aired Wednesday morning.
“I’ve run away from myself for a long time,” he said. ‘I’ve been hating myself for a long time. I came to terms with that earlier this year and processed it, and the next step in all of this was to let people know. “
Underwood, who realized he was “different” at the age of six, said he is now “the happiest and healthiest” he has ever been and admitted that he was in a “dark and bad” place before telling his truth. realized.
“In general, the reason this is now is because I’ve gotten to a place where … I would rather have died than say I’m gay,” he continued.
The former NFL player suggested he even attempted suicide.
“There was a moment in LA when I woke up, and I didn’t think I was going to wake up,” he said. ‘I didn’t mean to wake up. I think that was my wake-up call for me. “
Underwood was last linked to ex Cassie Randolph, whom he met on season 23 of the ABC dating show.
During the interview, he apologized directly to her.
“I’d like to say sorry for how things are turning out,” he said. ‘I messed up. I’ve made a lot of bad choices. “
Underwood admitted to having a crush on Randolph, which made it harder to figure out his sexuality.
“It made it even more confusing for me,” he said. ‘I loved everything about her. … I wish that had been brave enough to fix myself before killing someone else. “
The former couple first broke up in 2019 when they realized they “weren’t communicating,” but learned to work on those issues and got back together.
They broke up again in 2020, but the breakup took a dramatic turn. Months later, Randolph filed a restraining order against Underwood after claiming he was stalking her.
Randolph, 25, claimed Underwood placed a tracking device on her car and sent her “disturbing” text messages. She eventually filed a police report on the alleged tracker.
She dropped the restraining order in November.
“We were able to negotiate a private agreement to address one of Cassie’s concerns,” Underwood, 29, told TMZ afterwards. “I don’t believe Cassie did anything wrong in filing the restraining order and I also believe she acted in good faith. I appreciate everyone’s respect for privacy on this matter. “
Underwood also apologized to the women he hurt by even appearing in “ The Bachelor. ”
‘Do I regret being’ The bachelor? Do I regret dealing with it? I do. I think I could have handled it better, ”he admitted. “I wish I hadn’t dragged people into the mess to find out who I was.
“… But I can sit here and say I’m sorry to all those women, and I can thank you too, because without them and without ‘The Bachelor’ franchise, I don’t know if this would have come true.”
Underwood, who admitted to thanking God for getting him on “The Bachelor” because it meant he was “straight,” first appeared in Becca Kufrin’s season of “The Bachelorette” in 2018.