(OPINION) ETH – Colton Underwood, who is best known for his season on ABC’s hit series “The Bachelor,” has just announced on Wednesday that he is officially gay and that believes he is closer” to God now than ever before. Underwood stated: “I’ve ran from myself for a long time. I’ve hated myself for a long time,” the 29-year-old former professional football player told “Good Morning America” co-host Robin Roberts in a pre-taped interview.
He went on to say: “And I’m gay. And I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it. And the next step in all of this was sort of letting people know,” he added. During his interview, Underwood stated that while he was in Catholic grade school, he “learned in the Bible that gay is a sin.”
However, Underwood claims that after coming to the conclusion that he’s homosexual, he’s now “closer to God.” and that some Christians might not understand how that’s possible. “I used to wake up in the morning and pray for Him to take the gay away. I used to pray for Him to change me,” he continued. He went on to say that his relationship with God isn’t “conditional.”
Colton claims that his decision to embrace his homosexuality has helped him understand why he never felt like he fit in as a child and gave him insight into why he kept his virginity for so long. While on “The Bachelor” in 2019, he was heavily marketed as the “virgin Bachelor.”
“I literally remember praying to God the morning I found out I was the Bachelor and thanking Him for making me straight,” Underwood recalled of his reaction. “I remember that vividly, of saying like, ‘Finally, you’re letting me be straight. Finally, you’re giving me a wife, a fiancée,'” he continued. “And then I’m gonna have the kids, and then I’m gonna have the house.”
Underwood explained that he would struggle with his sexuality for most of his life because of his Christian upbringing, as he didn’t want to disappoint his family but since then has reportedly told his family about his sexual identity and revealed that they support him.
Underwood’s grandfather was interviewed by The Sun, and stated, “We’re all proud of him and support everything he’s been through. I liked the interview. He knows we support him. He’s with us all the time.” “We all love Colton and we are behind him 100 percent,” His grandmother, Joyce, added.
Roberts, who is also herself a gay woman, ended the GMA interview with Underwood by sharing her own personal thoughts about being a “gay Christian” and echoed something her mother told her when she came out: “God loves you because of who He is, not because of anything you do or don’t do.”
