Colton Underwood says he hooked up with married men while closeted

On the 'We Need To Talk' podcast, Colton Underwood said he 'hooked up' with 'married straight men' before his time on the Bachelor franchise. He explained that, while he was in the closet, he made it a rule to only see married men because 'they had more to lose than I did' and it felt like a way to protect himself.

Underwood said he was careful when he was 'physically experimenting' and feared being outed, calling the choice 'a messed up thing to think through' but 'a form of self [preservation].' He previously told Variety that by 'hookups' he meant not sex. During promotion of his season on ABC he was dubbed the first 'Virgin Bachelor.' He said he told producers he was a virgin on night one of 'The Bachelorette,' and that the virgin storyline became his entire narrative, a pressure he disliked.

He has said he took the lead role thinking it would 'force' him to be publicly straight and steer him toward a traditional path his faith and family would accept.

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