The former Bachelor came out as gay in April.
Colton Underwood has a special someone in his life. Ahead of the debut of his Netflix series, Coming Out Colton, the 29-year-old former Bachelor confirmed to ET's Denny Directo that he is dating someone seriously, after coming out as gay in April.
"I've learned this new thing since I did The Bachelor -- it's called boundaries," Underwood quipped of his decision to stay mum about his relationship. "I finally put some up."
Underwood's 2019 season of The Bachelor ended with him in a relationship with his winner, Cassie Randolph. The pair split in May 2020.
"Having a public relationship wasn't the healthiest thing last time," he told ET. "I'm very happy. I'm in a very good place in my relationship with him. That's pretty much all I've got for you."
Underwood didn't disclose the identity of the person he's dating, but, back in September, he was spotted kissing Jordan C. Brown in Hawaii, according to pics obtained by TMZ.
Those pics surfaced four months after Underwood came out on Good Morning America. During that interview, Underwood said that he'd yet to have "an emotional connection" with a man.
"I'll go on the record and say I still haven't had an emotional connection with a man. I've never allowed myself to. And it's never been sort of in my cards to let myself get there. I want to more than anything," he said, before revealing that he wants a partner "who can push me and challenge me in all the great ways."
Though The Bachelor didn't work out, Underwood told ET that he doesn't regret joining the franchise.
"I have some regrets on how I handled things with the show, with after the show, but I don't have regrets in doing it," he said. "In fact, in a really weird roundabout way, it helped save my life. I don't know if I would have ever came out, and I don't know what my life would have been like if I did not put myself in that position."
The experience also taught Underwood "a lot" about relationships in general.
"There has been so much over The Bachelor that I could take away," he said. "... I learned how to have tough conversation with someone early on. That will probably always stick with me, being able to be pretty direct and [say] what I want out of a relationship and what I need."
"That is something I am always going to be grateful for that show giving me, the courage to be like, 'Why beat around the bush?'" Underwood added. "It might accelerate a lot of my relationships now, but that's not a bad thing either."
As for his Netflix series, Underwood told ET that it's "the realest show I've ever done," as it shows him coming out to his family and friends.
"It has just been really emotional for my family to sort of go through this," he said. "They have been by my side these past few years and it has been a roller coaster. It really has."
With the support of his family and friends, Underwood has learned to not pay much mind to what people on social media think about him and his show.
"I don't know what people are going to think of me. At this point in my life and my career, I truly mean this, I don't care. I am going to try and be the best person and version of myself that I could be," he said. "... I hope [the show] hits some kids that don't always feel represented or seen... I hope those kids can look and be like, 'OK, there is no such thing as you can only be a football player [if] this is what you do and say. You could only be a Christian this way.' There are just so many different ways to be you. Hopefully people can see [that]."
"If people watch the show they'll see a different side of me that maybe my past hasn't shown, or the GMA interview didn't show," Underwood added. "I think there's a lot more to this show than what people probably thought there was gonna be. All I can hope is they give it a shot."
Coming Out Colton will land on Netflix Dec. 3.
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