Looking to the future. Colton Underwood had quite a journey during his three Bachelor Nation seasons, but he didn’t keep many relationships from the dating franchise.
“I don’t watch the show. I mean, the only person that I really talked to is Chris [Harrison] still. Chris and I stay in touch,” the former Bachelor, 29, told Us Weekly exclusively while promoting his new Netflix series, Coming Out Colton. “I will say this [since] Chris was about the only one from the franchise who really reached out and sort of let me know that he was there for me, [asking] if there’s anything he can do.”
Underwood, who came out publicly on Good Morning America in April, also noted that the former Bachelor host, 50, “was going through his own thing at the time,” but was still there for him.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have really any relationships in the franchise anymore,” the Indianapolis native added.
Harrison, for his part, came under fire in February after publicly supporting season 25 Bachelor contestant and eventual winner Rachael Kirkconnell‘s racially charged posts. After multiple apologies, the Perfect Letter author temporarily stepped away from the franchise, announcing that he will skip hosting Matt James‘ After the Final Rose special.
The following month, ABC revealed he would not be hosting Katie Thurston‘s season of The Bachelorette or season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise. He permanently exited the franchise in June.
Although Underwood has appeared on multiple seasons of reality TV — including The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise and The Bachelor — his new show, Coming Out Colton, is the first time he’s sharing his true self with the world.
“It’s very relieving. I will say [this is] the happiest and healthiest [I’ve been,] for sure. There’s no overcompensating, there’s a lot of things that led to, sort of, my spiral and to me not being healthy, [which] came when I was in the closet,” he told Us. “So, of course, after being out, it’s an amazing feeling.”
That said, Underwood’s family was a bit nervous about sharing so much of their personal lives on camera again.
“Talking to my parents and, actually, a lot of people in my life, they were pretty hesitant at first just because I think they saw what happened after I did The Bachelor and the year that I went through and the toll it took on my mental health,” the First Time author said. “At the end of the day, they love and support me a lot. And I had a conversation just saying like, ‘Hey, this is a show that is going to be very raw and real and authentic compared to some of the last shows I did.’ My family sort of knew what I went through behind the scenes with that franchise too. … They were excited for the opportunity for me to be able to be me.”
Coming Out Colton debuts on Netflix on Friday, December 3.
