Today is Thursday, April 15, 2021. Here’s what you need to know:
Good morning,
Two years after starring on-air as The Bachelor, former football player Colton Underwood came out as gay.
The former leading man came out during an interview Wednesday on Good Morning America, where he revealed he’s known about his sexuality for a long time, but ran from himself. At the age of 6, Underwood said he knew he felt different, but didn’t start to process his attraction to men until high school.
"I've ran from myself for a long time. I've hated myself for a long time," Underwood said in the interview. "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."
Although Underwood said he is the happiest he has ever been, he also expressed regret for how women on his season of The Bachelor may now feel misled. Underwood said he could have handled the situation better and wishes he didn’t drag others into his “mess of figuring out who” he was.
While some celebrities and other Twitter users tweeted their well wishes to Underwood, others used the platform as a way to remind people of Underwood’s past treatment of ex-girlfriend, Cassie Randolph. Randolph was temporarily granted a restraining order against Underwood after he reportedly stalked her, harassed her and her family and placed a tracking device on her car.