Colton Underwood graduated from Illinois State University, where he followed his father's footsteps to play college football for the Redbirds.[10]
Career
Football
On May 10, 2014, Underwood was signed as an undrafted free agent by the
San Diego Chargers.[11] On August 30, 2014, he was waived. On September 3, 2014, Underwood was signed to the
Philadelphia Eagles'
practice squad.[12] On September 9, 2014, he was released from practice squad.[13]
On September 23, 2014, Underwood returned to the Chargers and was signed to their practice squad. On December 29, 2014, he signed a future contract. On September 5, 2015, he was waived. On September 6, 2015, he was placed on injured reserve. On September 10, 2015, he was waived from injured reserve.[13][14]
On December 1, 2015, Underwood was signed to the
Oakland Raiders' practice squad. On August 29, 2016, he was released by the Raiders.[13][15]
After getting eliminated in week 8 after hometown dates,[17] Underwood was cast in
season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise.[18] After being linked to fellow contestant Tia Booth, Underwood broke up with her, and both left Paradise separately in the fourth week.[19]
On September 4, 2018, ABC announced that Underwood would star in the
23rd season of The Bachelor.[20][21] The announcement received mixed reactions on social media.[22] On September 21, 2018, ABC announced that Colton had started filming The Bachelor and had already met three of his contestants on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[23][24]
On April 14, 2021, Variety reported that Underwood was in production for his own unscripted series at
Netflix. The six-episode series produced by
Jeff Jenkins, Coming Out Colton, premiered on Netflix on December 3, 2021.[25][26] In the series, he meets with other openly gay public figures, including
Gus Kenworthy,
Michael Sam, and CMT host Cody Alan.[27] The series premiered to major criticism with
Esquire describing the series as "calculated"[28] and
Variety's Daniel D'Addario saying "'Coming Out Colton' is a distasteful extension of a brand that doesn’t mean much to begin with."[29]
In January 2016, Underwood founded the Colton Underwood Legacy Foundation to raise money for
cystic fibrosis research and medical equipment.[31][32] Underwood started the foundation after his cousin Harper was diagnosed with the disease.[31][33] In January 2018, the foundation began the Legacy Project, with the goal of delivering AffloVests,
chest wall oscillation devices which clear excess mucus from lung airways as part of the daily treatment for cystic fibrosis, to children in 50 US states.[34][35]
Personal life
From 2016 to 2017, Underwood dated gymnast
Aly Raisman after he asked her out in a video.[36][37]
Underwood has spoken publicly about his choice to remain a virgin, and how appearing on The Bachelorette helped him discuss the topic.[38] He began dating
speech pathology student
Cassie Randolph after meeting her on season 23 of The Bachelor. When Randolph initially ended their relationship during the final three, Underwood broke up with the other two women and asked Randolph for a second chance without the pressure of an engagement.[39] Underwood and Randolph were in a relationship from November 2018 until May 2020.[40][41]
In September 2020, Randolph filed a
restraining order against Underwood,[42] alleging that he
stalked her outside her Los Angeles apartment and her parents' Huntington Beach house, sent harassing text messages using an anonymous number, and installed a tracking device underneath her car.[43][44] Randolph was granted a
temporary restraining order against Underwood ahead of the October hearing.[45] Randolph dropped the restraining order in November, and Underwood stated "I do not believe Cassie did anything wrong in filing for the restraining orders and also believe she acted in good faith."[46] He identifies himself as a
Christian.[47]
In an interview with Variety, Underwood stated that he was blackmailed into coming out. An anonymous man, claiming to be a fan, took a picture of Underwood nude at a
gay sauna in Los Angeles in 2019. The man sent Underwood an email threatening to out him to the press. Underwood forwarded the email to his publicist, and this caused him to come out publicly.[52] During the interview, Underwood also stated that he experimented with men before appearing on The Bachelor franchise, stating he used the dating app
Grindr under an
alias from 2016 to 2017.[53][54]
Relationship with Jordan C. Brown
On September 1, 2021, Underwood was reported to be dating
Democratic strategist Jordan C. Brown after the two were spotted vacationing together in Hawaii, which he confirmed in December 2021 in a birthday post for Brown.[55][56] In February 2022, Underwood confirmed that he and Brown had gotten engaged shortly after his 30th birthday the previous month.[57][58] On May 13, 2023, Brown and Underwood were married.[59][60]
Family
On May 21, 2024, it was announced in an interview with Men's Health magazine that Underwood and his husband were expecting a boy, due in October 2024. The couple used an egg donor and surrogate for the pregnancy.[61]
^
abPiepenburg, Erik (November 29, 2021).
"Colton Underwood Comes Out and Comes Clean". The New York Times. Underwood, 29, brawls with contradictions. He's a Christian who refuses to believe in the version of God he learned about as a Catholic altar boy.
^Strauseie, Jackie (April 21, 2021).
"'Bachelor' Star Colton Underwood Comes Out as Gay". The Hollywood Reporter. Growing up in the Catholic church, he said, "I learned in the Bible that gay is a sin" and he recalled how, as an athlete, the word "gay" was used in a negative connotation. "There are a lot of things where I look back and say, 'No wonder I held it in... Underwood revealed to star Becca Kufrin and millions of viewers that he was a virgin, citing his Catholic values.
^Lou, Shane (April 17, 2020).
"Colton Underwood shares how he's leaning into his faith during the pandemic". Today.com. I would just encourage people if they've been sort of on the fence or borderline … I know for me, as a Christian, I grew up in the church and going to Catholic grade school, and I became more nondenominational and just an overall better Christian. But there was a point in my life where I sort of was on the fence. I didn't know if I was really a devout Christian or if I was just sort of saying I was because that's how I grew up. I just challenge everybody to really lean into their faith and to really take this time to grow their relationship with God.