Colton Unrwood beg the 'first gay Bachelor' would be a major mistake for the embattled ABC anchise

Contents:

• COLTON UNRWOOD, ‘BACHELOR’ STAR, COM OUT AS GAY
• FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR AND NFL PLAYER COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY ON 'GOOD MORNG AMERI,' SAYS HE'S 'THE HAPPIT AND HEALTHIT' HE'S EVER BEEN
• FORMER "BACHELOR" STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY
• THE BACHELOR STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY
• 'THE BACHELOR' STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY
• BACHELOR: COLTON REGRETS NOT SUPPORTG FIRST OPENLY GAY NFL PLAYER
• COLTON UNRWOOD, THE FIRST GAY ‘BACHELOR,’ CONONTS HIS CONTROVERSIAL COMG OUT
• MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY, CHRIS HARRISON IS 'VERY PROUD' OF HIM
• COLTON UNRWOOD, FORMER NFL PROSPECT AND BACHELOR, NOW SAYS HE IS GAY AFTER SAYG LAST YEAR HE WASN’T
• JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN IS FIRST MALE NFL ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• COLTON UNRWOOD BEG THE 'FIRST GAY BACHELOR' WOULD BE A MAJOR MISTAKE FOR THE EMBATTLED ABC ANCHISE
• CARL NASSIB IS THE FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO COME OUT AS GAY
• COLTON UNRWOOD REGRETS NOT COMG OUT AFTER SEEG MICHAEL SAM BEE FIRST OPENLY GAY NFL PLAYER
• FORMER ‘BACHELOR’ COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY ON ‘GMA’

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. “He’d pulled up the history of recent Google search, which clud gay porn s and a variety of qutns: ‘Am I gay?

FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR AND NFL PLAYER COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY ON 'GOOD MORNG AMERI,' SAYS HE'S 'THE HAPPIT AND HEALTHIT' HE'S EVER BEEN

How do you know if you’re gay? )In s 20 years, the anchise has never featured an all-gay st.

Colton Unrwood me out as gay a pretaped terview for "Good Morng Ameri. No NFL player has played a regular-season game while publicly out as gay or bisexual, and only six former players have e out Unrwood appeared 3 stallments of the 'Bachelor' anchiseUnrwood, who is 29, appeared "The Bachelorette" and "Bachelor Paradise" 2018 before he beme the lead of the 23rd "Bachelor" season the followg year.

FORMER "BACHELOR" STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY

In May 2020, Unrwood said beg on 'The Bachelor' ma him realize he wasn't gay. Former "Bachelor" star and NFL player Colton Unrwood has e out as gay.

The 29-year-old revealed he was gay publicly for the first time durg an terview wh "Good Morng Ameri" anchor Rob Roberts that aired on Wednday. I've hated myself for a long time, and I'm gay, " said Unrwood.

"I would have rather died than say, 'I'm gay, ' and I thk that was sort of my wakp ll, " he said.

THE BACHELOR STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY

He is now one of the few openly gay former NFL his book, "The First Time: Fdg Myself and Lookg for Love on Realy TV, " Unrwood opened up about his virgy and how he had once qutned whether or not he was gay. However, Unrwood said he knew he was "different" sce he was six, and realized as a hman high school that he was gay.

In the terview, Unrwood said that openg up about beg gay has led him to a better place life. "And I'm gay.

Ms Randolph then filed for a rtrag orr agast Mr Unrwood, accg him of stalkg her, but she later requted the police vtigatn be source, Getty ImagImage ptn, In The Bachelor, he chose nttant Cassie RandolphMr Unrwood said he cid to e out after the panmic h, addg that was a time which forced people to "look at themselv the mirror and figure out who they are and what they've been nng om or what they've been puttg off their liv" said he had been aware of his sexualy for a long time, knowg he "jt felt different" om the age of Unrwood said he "learned the Bible that gay is a s" Catholic school. Durg his time playg football, he relled the term "gay" held "a nnotatn of negativy".

'THE BACHELOR' STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY

"I thk there's a lot of thgs, when I look back, I'm like, 'No wonr I held , '" he may also be terted : Media ptn, Kenh Felts has e out as gay at 90 years old... FORMER Bachelor star Colton Unrwood shocked fans when he announced on April 14, 2021, that he was gay.

After Unrwood me out as gay on natnal televisn, Netflix announced a new seri lled "Comg Out Colton, " about his journey. What did Colton Unrwood say about beg gay? I'm gay.

He relled a particular experience high school that he battled wh throughout his life, which he was "super secure" and "thought he was gay. The realy star revealed his classmat thought he may be gay as they qutned his fah and abstence om sex, wrg: "It was one of those thgs where you hear somethg so often, you start believg . "I thought, maybe I am gay.

BACHELOR: COLTON REGRETS NOT SUPPORTG FIRST OPENLY GAY NFL PLAYER

Colton Unrwood, the former football player who found fame on “The Bachelor, ” has revealed that he is gay. “And I'm gay. The Bachelor star Colton Unrwood regrets not g out as gay support of Michael Sam beg the first openly gay NFL athlete 2014.

The Bachelor star Colton Unrwood revealed that he regrets not g out as gay after Michael Sam beme the first-ever openly gay athlete the NFL.

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

Alas, Colton sent Bachelor Natn ablaze when he revealed April 2021 that he was, tth, a gay man who had been stgglg wh g out for many years. Now, Colton Unrwood is revealg that he regrets not g out as gay sooner, particularly after seeg Michael Sam gather the urage to open up about his sexualy and bee the first openly gay NFL athlete history.

Acrdg to Colton, "The football and athletic muny is not ready for gay people, " and he heard plenty of horrible thgs the locker rooms about Michael Sam beg gay. Colton Unrwood didn’t plan on ever tellg the world that he was gay.

MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY

“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.

JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

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 media l up wh accatns that Unrwood was moizg his g-out story. 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!

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

“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.

COLTON UNRWOOD, FORMER NFL PROSPECT AND BACHELOR, NOW SAYS HE IS GAY AFTER SAYG LAST YEAR HE WASN’T

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 Hollywood, progrs has still been slow.

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.

Unrwood’s faced mons as a closeted gay man. For Unrwood, growg up Washgton, Ill., wh a populatn of 15, 000, there were no gay role mols. “We had one gay person my entire town, ” Unrwood says.

JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN IS FIRST MALE NFL ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

”Though he felt that he was different at the age of 6, Unrwood never got the chance to teract wh gay people. “I would have done anythg to see a gay football player, ” he says, gettg choked up. He ed a iend’s Blockbter rd to rent the movie, so that no one his fay would spect him of beg gay.

“Gay porn was sort of what I gravated towards, ” Unrwood adms, clenchg his the time, Unrwood nied beg gay to his father.

He remembers that when Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player drafted by the NFL 2014, no one the locker room supported the ia. Their homophobia only drove him eper to the closet.

COLTON UNRWOOD BEG THE 'FIRST GAY BACHELOR' WOULD BE A MAJOR MISTAKE FOR THE EMBATTLED ABC ANCHISE

“Growg up sports, I was tght that gay is wrong and gay is bad and football players are not gay, ” Unrwood says. “By the time I realized that I was gay, I didn’t want to be gay. ’” Unrwood says of his gay enunters.

CARL NASSIB IS THE FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO COME OUT AS GAY

But producers have ma sure not to jt foc on whe privileged gay the seri, Unrwood will explore his posn of privilege, partly thanks to Kenworthy, who is featured by his si as someone who n relate to Unrwood’s experience, as a gay athlete who me out the spotlight.

“He’s been somebody that I’ve not only learned so much om, but he’s held me acuntable and he’s allowed me to see the privilege of beg a straight-prentg gay, whe man, ” Unrwood says of Kenworthy. “Here he is, a cisgenr whe man who out as gay, and he gets a show, ” says Garcia.

He wish his son wouldn’t live his entire life the public eye, but he se the impact his Netflix seri may have on fai who abandon their children for beg gay. “My dad is proud to say that he is a nservative Republin, and he is also proud to say, I have a gay son, ” Unrwood says.

COLTON UNRWOOD REGRETS NOT COMG OUT AFTER SEEG MICHAEL SAM BEE FIRST OPENLY GAY NFL PLAYER

The NFL has played for more than 100 years and there have been 16 gay or bi players to e out publicly. 16 and the first one to e out as gay while on an active roster. Over the years, Outsports has known of a few other players who are gay but have never e out, even when retired.

The NFL Network produced a documentary on Smh beg gay. Jenks is gay and this was the the first time he wily discsed his sexual orientatn.

In June, Carl Nassib of the Rairs me out as gay. Colton Unrwood, a star of “The Bachelor, ” a former football player and Colorado rint, me out as gay an terview wh Rob Roberts that aired Wednday on “Good Morng Ameri.

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

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

In s 20 years, the anchise has never featured an all-gay st.

-- Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's profsnal sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer and to possibly spire others siar 's a cisn and move that drew praise and support om owner Shad Khan, who was a vol and emphatic supporter of a cy ordance that expand protectns on the grounds of sexual orientatn, genr inty and genr exprsn. Outsi lebacker Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay and to play a game Associated Prs ntributed to this report. Former "Bachelor" star Colton Unrwood has e out as gay.