In an interview with People,
reality star Colton Underwood said that bullying as a teen led him to
believe he might be gay.
Underwood, the star of ABC's 23rd
season of The Bachelor, is currently promoting his new book,
The First Time, in which he discusses struggling with his
sexuality as a teenager and young adult.
The 28-year-old told People that
he was bullied growing up in a small town in Illinois.
“I was called fatso, four eyes and
four lips, because I used to lick my lips, so I would constantly have
a red ring around them,” Underwood
said.
“I was a little heavy, and that,
combined with being socially awkward, led to a really hard time. I
didn't believe in myself. And I was super insecure.”
His decision to abstain from sex and
drinking led to high school peers saying that he was gay.
“It was one of those things where you
hear something so often, you start believing it. I thought, maybe I
am gay. The captain of the football team should be having sex and
drinking, right? But I wasn't,” he said.
“In high school, when I was
struggling with my sexuality, I'm not going to talk to my parents
about it. So I internalized it,” he added.
On The Bachelor, Underwood ended
up with Cassie Randolph and the couple is still together.
Underwood recently announced on social
media that he tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) and urged
other young people to take the virus seriously and practice social
distancing.