Cassie Randolph addrs Colton Unrwood g out as gay

Contents:

• FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY
• COLTON UNRWOOD, THE FIRST GAY ‘BACHELOR,’ CONONTS HIS CONTROVERSIAL COMG OUT
• FORMER ‘BACHELOR’ STAR COLTON UNRWOOD: ‘I’M GAY’
• CASSIE RANDOLPH ADDRS EX COLTON UNRWOOD G OUT AS GAY
• DID COLTON UNRWOOD KNOW HE WAS GAY WHEN HE WENT ON THE BACHELOR?
• DID THE BACHELOR CONTTANTS KNOW COLTON UNRWOOD WAS GAY DURG FILMG? HANNAH BROWN SPEAKS OUT
• COLTON UNRWOOD REALIZED HE WAS GAY HIGH SCHOOL: I TRIED TO ‘FORCE MYSELF TO BE STRAIGHT’
• COLTON UNRWOOD, ‘BACHELOR’ STAR, COM OUT AS GAY
• 'BACHELOR' ALUM CASSIE RANDOLPH ON HOW SHE 'FOUND OUT' ABOUT EX COLTON UNRWOOD COMG OUT AS GAY
• 'BACHELOR' ALUM COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY: 'I'M THE HAPPIT AND HEALTHIT I'VE EVER BEEN'
• COLTON UNRWOOD, FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR, OUT AS GAY

FORMER 'BACHELOR' STAR COLTON UNRWOOD 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. "And I'm gay.

"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.

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

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

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.

FORMER ‘BACHELOR’ STAR COLTON UNRWOOD: ‘I’M GAY’

"I ed to wake up the morng and pray for him to take the gay away.

I am proud to be gay. 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.

CASSIE RANDOLPH ADDRS EX COLTON UNRWOOD G OUT AS GAY

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.

DID COLTON UNRWOOD KNOW HE WAS GAY WHEN HE WENT ON THE BACHELOR?

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.

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

COLTON UNRWOOD REALIZED HE WAS GAY HIGH SCHOOL: I TRIED TO ‘FORCE MYSELF TO BE STRAIGHT’

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.

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

“We had one gay person my entire town, ” Unrwood says. 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.

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

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 jaw.

At 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.

'BACHELOR' ALUM COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY: 'I'M THE HAPPIT AND HEALTHIT I'VE EVER BEEN'

Their homophobia only drove him eper to the closet.

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

“Growg up sports, I was tght that gay is wrong and gay is bad and football players are not gay, ” Unrwood says.