THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

"I've [run] from myself for a long time, I've hated myself for a long time. I'm gay, and I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it," the 29-year-old said. "The next step in all of this was sort of letting people know."

After professing his love to Cassie Randolph in his Bachelor finale in March 2019, the couple chose to pursue a relationship off-camera rather than getting married. The following year, they split—but things turned dark when Randolph filed a restraining order against Underwood, due to alleged harassment and stalking.

Underwood told GMA's Robin Roberts that he's grateful for his experience on the show: "Without The Bachelor franchise, I don't know if this would have ever came out."

In his 2020 memoir The First Time: Finding Myself and Looking for Love on Reality TV, Underwood wrote about dealing with rumors that he was gay during his senior year in high school.

GLAAD Head of Talent Anthony Allen Ramos issued a statement saying, "Every LGBTQ person's journey to discovering and accepting their authentic self is different, and Colton Underwood's decision to share his truth with the public reminds us that there is no set timeline for coming out. Given the large and loyal fandom who know Colton from 'The Bachelor,' his coming out and discussion of his faith will hopefully open eyes to the millions of out and proud LGBTQ people who are also people of faith."

Variety later reported that Underwood is getting his own reality show at Netflix. The project, which is currently in production, is an unscripted series with multiple episodes that focus on Underwood living his life publicly as a gay man.