Colton Unrwood, former 'Bachelor' star, says he is gay | CNN

Contents:

• COLTON UNRWOOD, ‘BACHELOR’ STAR, COM OUT AS GAY
• COLTON UNRWOOD, THE FIRST GAY ‘BACHELOR,’ CONONTS HIS CONTROVERSIAL COMG OUT
• ‘BACHELOR’ FANS MAND GAY SEASON AMID COLTON UNRWOOD’S G OUT
• FORMER ‘BACHELOR’ STAR SAYS HE IS GAY
• COLTON UNRWOOD, FIRST ‘BACHELOR’ STAR TO E OUT AS GAY, SAYS HE WAS BLACKMAILED
• ‘THE BACHELOR’ HAS A TROUBLED HISTORY WHEN TO GAY ROMANCE. IT’S NOT ALONE
• FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY

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

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. And I’m gay. “I would have rather died than say, ‘I’m gay.

“‘You know, Colt, we’d still love you and support you if you were gay, ’” he relled his mother tellg father was more nontatnal.

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

“He’d pulled up the history of recent Google search, which clud gay porn s and a variety of qutns: ‘Am I gay? How do you know if you’re gay? )In s 20 years, the anchise has never featured an all-gay st.

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe former “Bachelor” star announced he is gay on natnal TV April. Lebacker, who ma hearts flutter two years ago as the virgal leadg man on ABC’s aggrsively heterosexual h datg anchise “The Bachelor, ” said the no-gog-back words “I’m gay. The seri, which started filmg before his “Good Morng Ameri” appearance, is a heartfelt but refully packaged diary, which Unrwood reveals his sexual orientatn to unspectg fay members, iends and others, and gets a crash urse gay.

‘BACHELOR’ FANS MAND GAY SEASON AMID COLTON UNRWOOD’S G OUT

But he also wants to make amends for gog on “The Bachelor” a failed attempt, he said, to “bury beg gay. ”Unrwood gets an assist on the seri om his iend G Kenworthy, the skier and Olympian who me out as gay 2015. Compared to Unrwood, Kenworthy is a gay sage: He teach Unrwood what cisgenr means (“cis means that your genr that you intify wh is the same as the genr you were assigned at birth, ” he explas one scene) and ss wh Unrwood for a history lson at the Stonewall executive producer on the seri, Unrwood knows he has privilege and a platform, which is why he said he sought unsel om people who aren’t whe gay cisgenr men, cludg Nile Garcia, a transgenr Lata pastor.

In an email, Garcia said Unrwood uld be a role mol, pecially to let young athlet know they “n be male, athletic, gay and be succsful, loved and rpected. ”This beg realy TV, Unrwood didn’t prepare the people he out to on mera — what we see, he said, is their genue reactn to the news that he is gay. “We cid if we uld help a sgle fay, and hopefully multiple fai, by showg the love and support that I believe I displayed, other gay men and women hidg uld see a flicker of hope that their parents are gog to rpond wh open arms, ” she said a phone terview.

Unrwood said his hand had been forced bee, as he also told Variety, he got an anonymo email last year om someone who claimed to have nu photos of him at a spa known for a gay clientele. “The easit way for me to say is that was like me brgg a girl home, ” Unrwood said, blhg and soundg like someone who really is new to this whole gay thg.

FORMER ‘BACHELOR’ STAR SAYS HE IS GAY

”Unrwood isn’t sure what next — maybe another gay TV project of some kd. “I have to take re of myself first, ” he that means social media, Christians, gay guys, Bachelor Natn, everybody else will have to wa. Liftyle reported at the Unrwood beme the first openly gay man Bachelor Natn April C.

The outlet reported that the rtrag orr was dropped that later, April 2021, Unrwood me out as gay durg an terview on "Good Morng Ameri. "This mak him the first former lead to be part of the LGBTQ+ muny, and the first gay man volved wh the May 2023, Unrwood married polil strategist Jordan C. 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. He was the first lead of The Bachelor anchise to e out as gay. 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.

COLTON UNRWOOD, FIRST ‘BACHELOR’ STAR TO E OUT AS GAY, SAYS HE WAS BLACKMAILED

Colton Unrwood didn’t plan on ever tellg the world that he was gay. “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. A gay “Bachelor, ” though?

His announcement that he was gay cid wh news that he was filmg a Netflix realy show about his new life.

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

And others legimately argued that as a hunky whe gay man, he was benefg om privilege, takg a platform that other members of the queer muny served more than he did. “If you’re gay, be gay!

“I had never seen a football player that had ma to the NFL that had been gay, growg up Catholic. “I’ve had hundreds of gay Christian men and women who are nfed their walk wh J say, ‘I felt closer to God when I me out.

“I never want people to thk that I’m g out to change the narrative, or to bsh over and not take rponsibily for my actns, and now that I have this gay life that I don’t have to addrs my past as a straight man, ” Unrwood says.

FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY

Cled to ment for this story, or answer qutns about whether there have been discsns about velopg a gay season of “The Bachelor.

Realy TV has the power to change mds, showsg unrreprented muni to sectns of the untry who might not e across gay, bisexual or transgenr people their everyday liv. The number of high-profile gay love stori at the movi — among them, the Hulu romantic edy “Happit Season” and 2017 Sundance darlg “Call Me by Your Name” — remas small.

It’s rare to see a full-fledged gay love story, or hts of gay romance, on a realy TV show. When Lance Bass, who is openly gay, appeared on the program 2008, he was paired wh a female partner.