The all-American guy came out today and we are proud! (Pic: Getty)
In a hugely emotional interview with Good Morning America, former pro-footballer and star of The Batchelor Colton Underwood has come out as gay, citing mental health that the pandemic as reasons for telling a truth that he thought he never would.
A new hope
Colton seemed nervous but at the same time buzzing with hope and this palpable sense of relief that only comes when someone releases the pent-up shame and anxiety that can come from a lifetime of hiding your sexuality in plain sight.
Underwood starred in the 2019 season of The Batchelor where his virginity was even used as a storyline. Questions about his sexuality even came up at the time and he said in an interview, "It was one of those things where you hear something so often, you start believing it. I thought, maybe I am gay. The captain of the football team should be having sex and drinking, right? But I wasn't."
Punting as a pundit, Colton steps up (Pic: Getty)
Colton continued in the interview People, he continued “I come from an athletic family, so it was always, 'Move on, you're good.’ That threw me off. In high school, when I was struggling with my sexuality, I'm not going to talk to my parents about it. So I internalized it."
Coming back to life
In his coming out interview with Good Morning America, the 29 year-old discusses how hard this year has been for everyone and how in so many cases it has encouraged people to work out who they really are when they’ve had all this time to reflect.
The star said: “Obviously this year’s been a lot for a lot of people, and it’s probably made a lot of people look themselves in the mirror and figure out who they are and what they’ve been running from and putting off in their lives”.
Handsome as ever, Underwood keeps it classy in black (Pic: Getty)
“For me, I’ve ran from myself for a long time and I’ve hated myself for a long time, and I’m gay. I came to terms with that that earlier this year and have been processing it. The next step in all of this is sort of letting people know. I’m still nervous, but it’s been a journey for sure.”
Mental health was a big part of his decision to come out publicly after hitting rock bottom and even contemplating suicide. Colton said that these thoughts were his wake-up call and that he needed to start to live his life honestly. For a football start this sort of story is not uncommon but by Colton’s frank and honest revelations, let’s hope he helps others who maybe going through the same thing.