'Bachelor' star Colton Unrwood reveals he is gay

Contents:

• COLTON UNRWOOD, THE FIRST GAY ‘BACHELOR,’ CONONTS HIS CONTROVERSIAL COMG OUT
• BACHELOR ALUM COLTON UNRWOOD COM OUT AS GAY ON GMA: ‘I RAN FROM MYSELF FOR A LONG TIME’ (WATCH)
• THERE’S ALREADY BEEN A GAY ‘BACHELOR’-TYPE SHOW, AND IT WAS ESRTED OFF AIR AFTER JT ONE SEASON
• FORMER ‘BACHELOR’ COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY ON ‘GMA’
• DID COLTON UNRWOOD KNOW HE WAS GAY WHEN HE WENT ON THE BACHELOR?
• 'BACHELOR' ALUM COLTON UNRWOOD OUT AS GAY: 'I'M THE HAPPIT AND HEALTHIT I'VE EVER BEEN'
• 'BACHELOR' STAR COLTON UNRWOOD REVEALS HE IS GAY
• ‘THE BACHELOR’ HAS A TROUBLED HISTORY WHEN TO GAY ROMANCE. IT’S NOT ALONE
• 'THE BACHELOR' 'S COLTON UNRWOOD COM OUT AS GAY: 'I'VE RAN OM MYSELF FOR A LONG TIME'
• BACHELOR NATN CELEBRAT COLTON UNRWOOD AFTER HE COM OUT AS GAY
• CASSIE RANDOLPH SHAR ‘HORRIBLE’ WAY SHE FOUND OUT EX COLTON UNRWOOD IS GAY

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

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.

BACHELOR ALUM COLTON UNRWOOD COM OUT AS GAY ON GMA: ‘I RAN FROM MYSELF FOR A LONG TIME’ (WATCH)

Acrdg to him, last year, while livg Los Angel, he secretly vised a spa known for terg to gay clientele.

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

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?

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

'BACHELOR' STAR COLTON UNRWOOD REVEALS HE IS GAY

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. 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.

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

“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. Their homophobia only drove him eper to the closet.

'THE BACHELOR' 'S COLTON UNRWOOD COM OUT AS GAY: 'I'VE RAN OM MYSELF FOR A LONG TIME'

“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. But producers have ma sure not to jt foc on whe privileged gay men.

BACHELOR NATN CELEBRAT COLTON UNRWOOD AFTER HE COM OUT AS GAY

In 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.

CASSIE RANDOLPH SHAR ‘HORRIBLE’ WAY SHE FOUND OUT EX COLTON UNRWOOD IS 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.