"I didn’t know how to handle that": Colton Underwood opens up about struggles as a "virgin bachelor" with "suicidal thoughts"

American reality television personality and former NFL player Colton Underwood’s bombshell interview on Good Morning America has turned heads, owing to revelations he made about his sexuality.

For the uninitiated, Underwood became known as the "virgin bachelor" when he featured on Season 23 of The Bachelor. The reality star reportedly hinted in his memoir about losing his virginity while filming the show.

In the latest interview, Underwood elaborated on his struggles with his sexuality and being known as a virgin on the show. He discussed the trauma he was subjected to because of these private details being public information.

According to Page Six, in a pre-taped interview on April 14, Underwood reportedly said,

“I fully was a virgin before, and I could never give anybody a good enough answer as to why I was a virgin. The truth is, I was a 'virgin Bachelor' because I was gay and I didn’t know how to handle it.”

He told the GMA host Robin Roberts that he came to terms with his sexuality earlier this year.

Underwood further 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."

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“Suicidal thought” made Colton Underwood “take control of life”

Explaining further, Colton said he reached realization after 2020. He said the year made people

"look at themselves in the mirror and figure out who they are and what they've been running from or what they've been putting off in their lives."

However, the journey until then was harsh for the former bachelor as he battled “suicidal thoughts”.

He recalled, “There was a moment in L.A. that I woke up and I didn't think I was gonna wake up. I didn't have the intentions of waking up.” Underwood noted “suicidal thought” led him to “take back control” of his life.

(Image, ABC)

The Bachelor franchise extends its support for Colton Underwood

Following Colton’s interview with GMA, the executive producers of The Bachelor issued a statement saying, “We are so inspired by Colton Underwood’s courage to embrace and pursue his authentic self. As firm believers in the power of love, we celebrate Colton's journey in the LGBTQIA+ community every step of the way.”

No sooner, after Colton's interview, fans took to Twitter to show their support for him.