Before Colton Unrwood, 'The Bachelor' fumbled on gay romance - Los Angel Tim

Contents:

• COLTON UNRWOOD, FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR, OUT AS GAY
• FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY
• COLTON UNRWOOD, ‘BACHELOR’ STAR, COM OUT AS GAY
• THERE’S ALREADY BEEN A GAY ‘BACHELOR’-TYPE SHOW, AND IT WAS ESRTED OFF AIR AFTER JT ONE SEASON
• 'BACHELOR' ALUM CASSIE RANDOLPH ON HOW SHE 'FOUND OUT' ABOUT EX COLTON UNRWOOD COMG OUT AS GAY
• ‘THE BACHELOR’ HAS A TROUBLED HISTORY WHEN TO GAY ROMANCE. IT’S NOT ALONE
• FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY, CHRIS HARRISON IS 'VERY PROUD' OF HIM
• COLTON UNRWOOD, THE FIRST GAY ‘BACHELOR,’ CONONTS HIS CONTROVERSIAL COMG OUT
• ‘BACHELOR’ STAR COLTON UNRWOOD COM OUT AS GAY
• FORMER "BACHELOR" STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY
• FORMER ‘BACHELOR’ COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY ON ‘GMA’
• COLTON UNRWOOD'S FORMER BACHELOR CONTTANT DEMI BURT REACTS AFTER HE COM OUT AS GAY
• DID THE BACHELOR CONTTANTS KNOW COLTON UNRWOOD WAS GAY DURG FILMG? HANNAH BROWN SPEAKS OUT

COLTON UNRWOOD, FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR, OUT AS GAY

The former Bachelor nttant me out as gay April 2021 and has been attached to Brown sce last fall. Unrwood then me out as gay April 2021 an terview wh Rob Roberts on Good Morng Ameri, and went on to star on Netflix docu-seri Comg Out Colton, tracg Unrwood's own g out journey and teractns wh other notable gay public figur. Related ntent: Former Bachelor Colton Unrwood out as gayStars celebrate newly out Bachelor alum Colton Unrwood: 'You're ee now'Why Comg Out Colton is a major fumble Episo Reps Zach on the season fale of The Bachelor S27 E10 Rep The Bachelor fale rep: Zach go om 'eak-out mo' to pickg a fiancée By Kristen Baldw The Bachelor rep.

Former "Bachelor" star Colton Unrwood revealed that he is gay a taped terview wh "Good Morng Ameri" anchor Rob Roberts that aired Wednday. And I’m gay, and I me to terms wh that earlier this year, and I’ve been procsg and the next step all of this was sort of lettg people know, " Unrwood, 29, told Roberts. In an terview wh Entertament Tonight last year, he said that "The Bachelor" helped him realize that he was not gay, after stgglg wh his sexualy.

And a book he published 2020, "The First Time: Fdg Myself and Lookg for Love on Realy TV, " he revealed that growg up, people would qutn whether he was gay, sce he was a virg and a football player. The tth is, I was a virg bachelor bee I was gay and I didn't know how to handle , " Unrwood told Roberts.

FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY

"He said his Catholic upbrgg and athletic life ma him supprs his sexualy, even though he knew he was gay his hman year of high now, Unrwood said he is closer to God than ever before. "And I know even sayg that now as a gay man, people are gog to be like 'how is that even possible? '""I ed to wake up the morng and pray for him to take the gay away, " Unrwood explaed.

COLTON UNRWOOD, ‘BACHELOR’ STAR, COM OUT AS GAY

Colton Unrwood is ready to live his former "Bachelor" star me out as gay an exclive terview wh Rob Roberts on "Good Morng Ameri" on Wednday.

"When Roberts, who is also openly gay, said she uld "see the joy" and "see the relief" Unrwood, he said he was "emotnal , like such a good, happy, posive way, " and is "the happit and healthit" he's ever been. Unrwood said he went through a "dark and bad" time before feelg like he uld reveal this about himself and his "wake up ll" was feelg like he "would've rather died" than say he's gay. It took until high school for him to realize he "was more attracted to the boys and the men" than he was the oppose grown up the Catholic church, he remembered he "learned the Bible that gay is a s" Catholic gra school.

THERE’S ALREADY BEEN A GAY ‘BACHELOR’-TYPE SHOW, AND IT WAS ESRTED OFF AIR AFTER JT ONE SEASON

And durg his time sports, he remembered people g the word "gay" as a term that held "a nnotatn of negativy.

'BACHELOR' ALUM CASSIE RANDOLPH ON HOW SHE 'FOUND OUT' ABOUT EX COLTON UNRWOOD COMG OUT AS GAY

Unrwood said he has grown "closer to God" this revelatn and said he knows some people will qutn how that's even possible for a gay man to say. AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe 29-year-old former football player had wrten about qutng his sexualy a memoir, published Shotwell/Invisn, via Richard Shotwell, via Invisn, via Associated PrsColton Unrwood, a star of “The Bachelor” and a former football player, me out as gay an terview wh Rob Roberts that aired Wednday on “Good Morng Ameri. “‘You know, Colt, we’d still love you and support you if you were gay, ’” he relled his mother tellg father was more nontatnal.

“He’d pulled up the history of recent Google search, which clud gay porn s and a variety of qutns: ‘Am I gay? It was dropped that April 2021, Unrwood me out as gay durg an terview on "Good Morng Ameri.

‘THE BACHELOR’ HAS A TROUBLED HISTORY WHEN TO GAY ROMANCE. IT’S NOT ALONE

"This mak him the first former lead to be part of the LGBTQ muny, and the first gay male volved wh the show. ”Thirteen gay men moved to a mansn to try to w the affectns of a handsome eligible bachelor, terr signer Robert Sepuvelda Jr. Former ‘NSYNCer Lance Bass played the Chris Harrison-que Read: Billy Eichner to Colton Unrwood 2019: 'Maybe You're the First Gay Bachelor and We Don't Even Know' (Vio)In the end, Sepulveda chose hairstylist Eric Leonardos as his guy.

“Fdg Prce Charmg” was not whout ntroversy, though, but not for s gay filmg and jt prr to s premiere, reports emerged that Sepulveda had prevly been a sex worker. ” Unrwood has been filmg a realy TV seri for Netflix about his journey g out as a gay origal story There’s Already Been a Gay ‘Bachelor’-Type Show, and It Was Esrted Off Air After Jt One Season At TheWrap.

McCoy for The New York TimHis Sexualy Don’t Defe Him, but It Can Set Him ApartEric Bach is an openly gay broadster for the Frericksburg Natnals. Three years earlier, while he was studyg journalism at Michigan State Universy, he had publicly e out as gay an say he wrote for the time of the say, he braced for a backlash, but nothg materialized. He worked his way up om ternships to full-time broadstg jobs, and while anyone wh an ter nnectn uld learn he was gay, nobody asked, and he did not say so aga publicly.

FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY, CHRIS HARRISON IS 'VERY PROUD' OF HIM

It was paful at the time — the worst thg that had happened to him as a gay man, he said — but has reced far enough to his memory that did not e to md an hourlong terview about his experienc as a gay broadster. As far as Bach knows — and as far as many of his unterparts wh other teams are aware — there are no other openly gay broadsters the sport. McCoy for The New York TimBorn to BroadstLong before he knew he was gay, Bach knew he wanted to be a sports father was a ach, and a love of sports ran through the fay.

”)He began to accept that he was gay durg his sophomore year of high school, but wh that acceptance me worry. As a multisport athlete, Bach was often locker rooms filled wh chos of homophobic slurs and gay jok.

’”By the start of his sophomore year at Michigan State, Bach was ready to tell his parents that he was gay, tchg his father off guard but nfirmg what his mother had prevly assumed. He did each job to the bt of his abily, and his sexualy never me, he has found that there’s a difference between beg a gay man baseball and beg pletely fortable as one.

COLTON UNRWOOD, THE FIRST GAY ‘BACHELOR,’ CONONTS HIS CONTROVERSIAL COMG OUT

That uncertaty mak him feel self-nsc a way he believ is mon for gay people mostly straight spac. “I feel like that’s the burn a lot of gay people live wh — tryg to be perfect for straight people, ” he job requir equent teractn wh the players and the achg staff — addn to his duti as play-by-play announcer, Bach also is the ma public relatns ntact for the team — and he said he hadn’t fully relaxed any of them. The environment is not hostile, but Bach never fets that he is the only openly gay person the room.

Mrer/Frericksburg NatnalsThat feelg is somewhat “self-flicted, ” Bach said, but he believ the solutn is to brg more openly gay people to sports and create a safe environment for those who are already there but have felt necsary to hi their League Baseball has touted self as a place of clivy. Billy Bean, an openly gay former player, was named the league’s first ambassador for cln 2014 and has sce been promoted to senr vice print and special assistant to Commissner Rob Maned.

In Febary, Anrson Comás, a mor leaguer the Chigo Whe Sox anizatn, me out as gay wh a post on Instagram, and the announcement was met wh public support om his club and some people around the cints suggt there is more work to be done. The Boston Red Sox lled up a mor leaguer, Matt Dermody, who had posted an anti-gay msage on Twter 2021, and Anthony Bass, a reliever for the Toronto Blue Jays, reposted a vio on social media that lled for boytts of L. “Those of that are this very small mory sports have to keep on havg the nversatns, keep on workg really ick’ hard to earn your spot this space, ” he aspir to be a gay person at home a big-league booth.

‘BACHELOR’ STAR COLTON UNRWOOD COM OUT AS GAY

McCoy for The New York TimA versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 27 of the New York edn wh the headle: A Gay Broadster Climbs the Ladr, But It’s Been Lonely. Colton Unrwood publicly g out as gay me as a surprise to his ex-girliend Cassie Randolph.

FORMER "BACHELOR" STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY

But Randolph eventually revealed how she first disvered the news that Unrwood, 29, is gay after he me out April 2021. RELATED VIDEO: Cassie Randolph Didn't Know Ex Colton Unrwood Was Gay, Says Source: 'She's Still Procsg'.

FORMER ‘BACHELOR’ COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY ON ‘GMA’

“The Bachelor’s” Colton Unrwood on Wednday revealed that he’s gay an emotnal terview wh Rob Roberts on “Good Morng Ameri. ” Compared wh the anchise’s past handlg of the subject of gay romance, was a major step forward. “And for me, I’ve ran om myself for a long time and I’ve hated myself for a long time, and I’m gay.

(Na Prommer / EPA-EFE / Rex / Shutterstock) In fact, “The Bachelor” has prevly e unr fire for ments that proment personali om the anchise have ma regardg LGBTQ people and relatnships tryg to protect that 2014, Season 18 “Bachelor” Juan Pablo Galavis was lled out for sayg a potential “Bachelor” stallment built around same-sex romance would not be “a good example for kids” and ed the word “pervert” reference to gay people.

In a 2014 terview wh New York Tim Magaze, Harrison si-stepped a qutn about whether there should be a gay “Bachelor” by tryg to make a qutn about bs cisns and parg love to pizzas and hamburgers. (Glenn Campbell / Bravo) The twist was ially a secret to Jam, the lead, as well as the gay nttants, which meant the gimmick was purely for the dience to try to figure out each nttant’s sexual orientatn.

COLTON UNRWOOD'S FORMER BACHELOR CONTTANT DEMI BURT REACTS AFTER HE COM OUT AS GAY

Given the homophobic stereotyp that exist around ceful gay men, this cel twist meant creatg a game out of straight men tryg to trick a gay man for a sh prize. Featurg a gay lead durg the first season ma the show particularly signifint bee there is still a noticeable lack of LGBTQ rom-s durg the holiday TV season.

DID THE BACHELOR CONTTANTS KNOW COLTON UNRWOOD WAS GAY DURG FILMG? HANNAH BROWN SPEAKS OUT

”In his 2020 memoir "The First Time: Fdg Myself and Lookg for Love on Realy TV" (a cheeky reference to Unrwood's much-discsed virgy throughout his appearanc on "The Bachelorette, " "Bachelor Paradise" and then "The Bachelor"), Unrwood explored stanc of self-disvery throughout his life, om re-learng his inty after his football reer to qutng his one pot the book, he wonred if his hancy to sleep wh his high school girliend meant he was gay. " Reflectg on his past to "GMA, " Unrwood said growg up the Catholic church and playg football (where a bad play would sometim be dubbed "gay" as a way of sultg the player) ma difficult for him to accept who he was, though he had an klg that he was different by the time he was 6 years were tim durg his self-disvery that he fell to a "dark" place and sometim grappled wh suicidal thoughts, he add.

“I’ll jt say , ” Unrwood reveals on a recent afternoon, still adjtg to his new life as an openly gay man. Acrdg to him, last year, while livg Los Angel, he secretly vised a spa known for terg to gay clientele.

At one time, g out of the closet was emed a reer killer, but shows like “The Real World, ” “Survivor” and the origal “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, ” now rebooted on Netflix, led to a profound, posive transformatn how gay people are perceived, and helped brg about progrsive chang to LGBTQ civil rights. As new generatns of lennials and Gen Zers have grown up wh LGBTQ iends and role mols, gay Amerins have attaed the right to marry, and queerns has bee more mastream media, as proven shows like HBO’s high school h “Euphoria” and sentially half of the characters the Ryan Murphy universe. His announcement that he was gay cid wh news that he was filmg a Netflix realy show about his new life.