Colton Underwood Opens Up About Relationship with Boyfriend Jordan C. Brown: 'I'm the Luckiest'

His Bachelor journey didn't end as expected, but Colton Underwood has found love again.

"I wasn't really pursuing dating at first," the former football player, 29, tells PEOPLE.

"But since then I found somebody and I am very much in love," says Underwood, who came out as gay earlier this year.

Underwood, whose new Netflix reality series, Coming Out Colton, chronicles his coming out experience, has been dating political strategist Jordan C. Brown since the summer. But don't look for any cozy Instagram shots just yet.

"After The Bachelor I learned the boundaries and healthiness of having a private relationship," says the star. "Everybody went through my breakup [with Cassie Randolph] and the ups and downs of my dating life. It's nice for me to have something for myself."

And Brown has been "a great support," throughout, Underwood says. "I'm the luckiest person to have him in my life."

Finding a relationship with a man was something Underwood once thought was impossible.

"I was struggling with my sexuality but I had such a level of fear over being gay," he recalls. "Now that I've been out to myself for a year, it's the healthiest and happiest I've ever felt. And there is nothing I would ever want to be but gay."

And Underwood says that he's grateful to share his story — and lessons learned — on the series, which premieres on Dec. 3.

"I had so many twists and turns to get to where I am now," he says. "I'm still learning and I'm still growing. But I'm not trying to trick myself anymore with the idea that I could force myself to be straight. And for the first time in my life, I'm hopeful that I'm on the right path."

Coming Out Colton debuts Dec. 3 on Netflix.