Colton Underwood reveals why he used to prefer hooking up with ‘straight’ married men
"The only way that I could think of to protect myself is I would only hook up with married men. Married ‘straight’ men," said Underwood
By Aaron Sugg
Colton Underwood has revealed the reason why he predominantly hooked up with married “straight” men before appearing on The Bachelor.
Underwood, who made history as the first leading man on the US Bachelor franchise to come out as gay after the show, spoke about his experience prior to the series on the We Need to Talk podcast.
Before coming out as gay in April 2021, two years after appearing on the 2019 season of The Bachelor, Underwood explained the inner turmoil he had while trying to keep his sexuality a secret.
“I was so careful on how I did everything” – Colton Underwood on hooking up with “straight” married men
“I was very careful, even when I was physically experimenting with guys and trying to, like, figure myself out,” Underwood said. “I was so careful on how I did everything.”
He revealed that during this period, he only had sexual encounters with married men, explaining: “The only way that I could think of to protect myself is I would only hook up with married men. Married ‘straight’ men.”
“That was sort of my rule that I would never break,” said Underwood. “When I was in the closet, that would be the only time I would ever hook up with men, if they were married… because they had more to lose than I did.”
“They had a whole family that they’d be risking as well” – Underwood hooked up with “married” men to protect his privacy
He added that this was a form of self-protection, having been a prominent name in American football at the time, playing as an undrafted NFL linebacker and tight end from 2014 to 2016.
“So if they tried to, you know, ruin my career and my life in football, they had a whole family that they’d be risking as well,” Underwood said.
“So it’s a messed up thing to think through, but for me it was a way to protect myself and just ensure that things wouldn’t get outside of my control.”
Underwood was a virgin whilst on The Bachelor in 2019
Following his football career, Underwood appeared on The Bachelorette and became the lead of The Bachelor in 2019, aged 26, where his virginity became a major storyline.
He expressed concern that people would begin “digging in” because at that time he had hooked up with men.
Underwood is now married to political strategist Jordan C. Brown, having wed in 2023, and welcomed a child via surrogate in 2024.