by Thinus Ferreira
Colton Underwood(29) is gay, the star of season 23 of the American love reality series The Bachelor said on Wednesday in an emotional TV interview on the Good Morning America show on ABC in the United States, revealing that hiding his sexuality led him down a "dark and bad" path and that he suicidal thoughts.
Colton Underwood was famously a virgin when the 26-year old was chosen as the next bachelor for The Bachelor, causing the expected drama when he jumped a fence and fled during one of the episodes of his season.
Colton Underwood on Wednesday told Robin Roberts that "I ran from myself for a long time, hating myself for a long time, and ... I’m gay".
"I came to terms with that earlier this year and I have been processing it. And the next step in all of this was sort of to let people know. I’m still nervous, but it’s been a journey for sure."
JUST IN: Former “Bachelor” star @Colton Underwood speaks his truth and comes out to @robinroberts: “I’m gay. And I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it… I’m the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever been in my life.” https://t.co/PoYJUAPBpA pic.twitter.com/isP7SptUu7
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 14, 2021
Colton Underwood said that "I'm emotional, but I'm emotional in such a good, happy, positive way. I'm the happiest and healthiest I've ever been in my life and that means the world to me."
In the interview, he said that hiding his sexuality led him down a "dark and bad" path that included suicidal thoughts. He said that he realised that he was "different" at the age of 6 but "couldn't process" it until he was in high school - and that it later in life led him to thoughts of suicide.
"I got into a place for me in my personal life that was dark and bad."
"I can list a bunch of different things but they’d all be excuses. I think overall the reason why now is because I got to a place where I didn't think I was ever going to share this. I would rather have died than say I'm gay, and that was sort of my wake up call."
"There was a moment in L.A. where I woke up, and I didn’t think I was going to wake up."
"I didn’t have the intentions of waking up - but I did. For me, that was my wake-up call of, like, 'This is your life. Take back control.' You know, driving my car close to a cliff, like, 'Oh, if this goes off the cliff, it’s not that big of a deal.' I don't feel that anymore."
Colton Underwood said that "I thought a lot about this: Do I regret being The Bachelor and handling it the way that I did?"
"I do think I could have handled it better, I do say that. I just wish I wouldn't have dragged people into my own mess of figuring out who I was. I genuinely mean that but I also at the same time I can say I'm sorry to all of those women, I can also thank them, and without The Bachelor franchise, I don't know if this would have ever come out."
In South Africa M-Net (DStv 101) has so far had two seasons of The Bachelor South Africa, followed by a first season of The Bachelorette South Africa, with Qiniso Van Damme as the bachelorette, that is currently broadcast on the channel.
