Colton Underwood, former star of The Bachelor, says he thought he might be gay after being bullied when he was growing up.
Said Underwood in an excerpt from his new book The First Time, published by People: “I was called fatso, four eyes and four lips, because I used to lick my lips, so I would constantly have a red ring around them. I was a little heavy, and that, combined with being socially awkward, led to a really hard time. I didn't believe in myself. And I was super insecure. 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.”
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“I didn't know who I was,” Underwood added. “And I come from an athletic family, so it was always, ‘Move on, you're good.' So 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. Even while my season [of The Bachelor] was airing, I battled the gay [rumors]. They'd say, ‘he's gay, he's hiding it.' No. But I've been there, done that now.”
Underwood recently announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
Said Underwood: “This virus doesn't care how old or healthy you are. Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones and stay home.”
