Colton Underwood admitted that he was “still nervous” as he came out as gay on Good Morning America, but the Season 23 lead of The Bachelor received nothing but love and support from the “Bachelor Nation” community. The franchise’s host Chris Harrison, who is currently taking a break from hosting The Bachelorette, was one of the first people to react to the news. He shared a photo with Colton and wrote, “Very proud of you today @coltonunderwood Happy to see you stand up and openly live your truth. You have my love and support my friend.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNpmquEgj9G/
Tayshia Adams, who replaced Clare Crawley as the lead in Season 16 of The Bachelorette, also offered her support. “@colton I am so proud of you for finally being able to share and live your truth. Sending you love and support!,” Tayshia tweeted.
. @colton I am so proud of you for finally being able to share and live your truth. Sending you love and support! 🤍✨
— Tayshia Adams (@tayshia) April 14, 2021
Contestants from Colton’s season of The Bachelor also made sure to send their love. “I’m so proud of you, @colton!,” Nicole Lopez-Alvar tweeted over a clip from Colton’s interview, while Demi Burnett chose to react with humor by writing, “Now all my gay friends asking me to set them up with Colton lmao.”
Now all my gay friends asking me to set them up with Colton lmao
— Demi Burnett (@demi_burnett) April 14, 2021
Other Bachelor stars made sure to also address the controversy surrounding Colton, while still supporting the former NFL player. “I feel for Cassie, happy for Colton,” Season 15 The Bachelorette contestant Mike Johnson tweeted, referring to Colton’s ex Cassie Randolph. Season 14 The Bachelorette contestant Chris Randone also touched on the allegations against Colton by tweeting, “Got nothing but love and support for my guy @colton…everyone has a past but as someone who has a gay sibling, the internal battle is like no other and couldn’t imagine it in the public eye. Hopefully you can live you life freely now and continue to grow that relationship w God.”
I feel for Cassie, happy for Colton
— Mike Johnson (@MikeJohnson1_) April 14, 2021
After nearly two years of dating, Colton and Cassie announced their amicable breakup in May of 2020. However, Cassie later filed for a restraining order against Colton in Sept. 2020, and claimed in the request reviewed by HollywoodLife that Colton allegedly put a tracking device under her car, sent harassing text messages to Cassie and her friends, and showed up unannounced to her Los Angeles apartment and her parents’ home in Orange County.
JUST IN: Former “Bachelor” star @Colton Underwood speaks his truth and comes out to @robinroberts: “I’m gay. And I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it… I’m the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever been in my life.” https://t.co/PoYJUAPBpA pic.twitter.com/isP7SptUu7
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 14, 2021
Cassie reportedly dropped her temporary restraining order in Nov. 2020, after reaching “a private agreement” with Colton, per TMZ. However, Colton still apologized “for how things ended” and admitted that he “made a lot of bad choices” during his new interview on Good Morning America.