Colton Underwood: I Thought The Bachelor Would Make Me Straight “I Prayed To God”
6/16/20261 hr 43 min
Colton Underwood became one of the most talked-about figures in reality TV after going from the NFL to The Bachelor, before publicly coming out as gay in one of the most scrutinised moments of his life. In this rare conversation, Colton reflects on growing up in football, faith and the Midwest, while privately knowing he was gay and trying desperately to hide it. He speaks about praying to be straight, building a fake public life, and the pressure of becoming “the virgin Bachelor” while living behind what he describes as a spiderweb of lies. Colton opens up about the rules, secrecy and fear that shaped his relationships, the NFL locker room culture that kept him in the closet, and the blackmail that pushed him toward finally coming out. He also reflects on his time on the US Traitors, the backlash that followed, and why he believes some viewers still misunderstand who he is now. Now a husband and father, Colton speaks about accountability, healing, and what it means to stop performing after years of hiding who he really was. Colton Underwood, We Need To Talk This conversation includes discussion of addiction and mental health. Please take care while watching. We’ve included links to support resources below: Samaritans: https://linkly.link/2kE85 MIND: https://linkly.link/2dx8b CALM: https://linkly.link/2dx8H Follow us here: https://www.instagram.com/needtotalk https://www.tiktok.com/@weneedtotalkpod Sign up to our newsletter https://linkly.link/2eXHX Follow Colton here: https://www.instagram.com/coltonunderwood/?hl=en https://www.tiktok.com/@coltonunderwood (00:00) Intro (01:51) Early Life and Upbringing (07:14) Growing Up Gay in the Midwest (09:07) How Colton’s Parents' Divorce Affected Him (12:13) Navigating His Sexuality As A Teenager (24:28) Being Drafted into the NFL (29:21) Navigating Homophobia in American Football (37:03) Saily Ad (38:11) How Colton Got on The Bachelor (42:35) Why Colton Became Known as the Virgin Bachelor (45:46) How Colton Hid His Sexuality on The Bachelor (48:14) The Fence Jump That Changed The Bachelor (56:15) Backlash from The Traitors (01:02:39) ID Mobile Ad (01:04:29) Colton Opens Up About Xanax & Alcohol Abuse (01:06:56) Being Blackmailed And Coming Out (01:15:51) Paul Surprised Colton (01:17:22) How Colton Met His Husband Jordan (01:19:36) Going Through Surrogacy in the USA (01:24:29) Paul Surprises Colton With A Letter (01:25:44) Writing His New Book, Dear Bishop (01:31:56) Would Colton Do Another Reality TV Show? (01:33:14) Most Memorable Conversation (01:36:46) Paul's Takeaways Sponsored by: Saily - Download from the app store and use code WNTT at checkout for 15% off. For more details: https://saily.com/wntt ⛵ iD Mobile: Ditch the texts and ‘Make it a Call’ — your voice is more powerful than you think. https://www.idmobile.co.uk/make-it-a-call?affiliate=marketing%7CYouTube_Display%7CMakeItACall_Brand&utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=Display&utm_campaign=MakeItACall&utm_content=Brand Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsColton Underwood· Guest0:00
I would only hook up with married straight men. I had a folder of boobs on my phone because it was the only way to protect myself. I didn't wanna be gay by any means.
Paul C. Brunson· Host0:07
You go from the NFL to The Bachelorette. How does that happen?
Kate0:11
Please welcome Colton Underwood.
Colton Underwood· Guest0:12
I always joke that I was bred, not born. [laughs] Like, my mom was an All-American volleyball player. My dad was an All-American football player. But the NFL wanna talk about their wins, they wanna talk about stats, they wanna talk about jersey sales. Like, they don't wanna talk about somebody's sexuality. All of the coaches in my life at some point said something homophobic.
Paul C. Brunson· Host0:28
Was your father one of those people?
Colton Underwood· Guest0:30
Oh, yeah. I was. But The Bachelor was at, like, an all-time high. I was so naive of, like, what this show was gonna do to my life. I just needed to get out of there.
Paul C. Brunson· Host0:39
What happened?
Colton Underwood· Guest0:40
The scary part is I had somebody following me and taking pictures, and then that's when the blackmail happened. So it became much easier for me to take more pills to not have to look that direction.
Paul C. Brunson· Host0:50
Was it abusing painkiller drugs?
Colton Underwood· Guest0:52
Every day. I was taking Xanax during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Meeting Jordan, getting married, having a kid, all of those things change you.
Paul C. Brunson· Host1:00
But you were on- Yes ... Celebrity Traitors.
Colton Underwood· Guest1:02
Yes.
Paul C. Brunson· Host1:02
And what I understand is is that you literally received death threats.
Colton Underwood· Guest1:06
What I would say is that is 15 versions of me ago. These blatant lies have to stop.
Paul C. Brunson· Host1:11
Would you do another reality TV show? All right. Before we begin, hit follow and tap the bell icon. It allows us to continue bringing you this show that we all love. We can go anywhere in the world. Right now I'm in LA, and we'll bring you the most phenomenal