Colton Underwood turned one of the most talked-about coming-out stories in reality-TV history into a new chapter of his public life, and Season 4 of The Traitors became another chapter defined by being the center of everyone’s suspicion.
Long before any of that, Underwood was trying to build a career in professional football.
From NFL Practice Squads to The Bachelor
Underwood spent time on NFL practice squads after going undrafted, before pivoting to reality television as a contestant and eventually the lead of Season 23 of The Bachelor. That platform made him one of the franchise’s most recognizable leads of the era.
Coming Out Publicly
In April 2021, Underwood came out as gay in an interview on Good Morning America, a moment that became the basis for the Netflix docuseries “Coming Out Colton.” He’s been in a relationship with political strategist Jordan C. Brown since 2021, the two married in Napa Valley in May 2023, and their son Bishop was born in September 2024.
The Season’s Most Suspected Faithful
Underwood played Season 4 with an aggressive, suspicious-of-everyone style, treating nearly every castmate as a potential Traitor. That approach put a target on his own back just as often as it put one on others. He clashed directly with Michael Rapaport, who argued to the group that nobody would be better at “holding a secret” than Underwood himself, a jab clearly informed by his public coming-out story. Underwood survived that particular vote, but Traitors Lisa Rinna, Rob Rausch, and Candiace Dillard Bassett eventually murdered him in Episode 8.
Life Now
Underwood said afterward that he felt “exhausted” by the ongoing speculation about him throughout the season and “tired of being a punching bag,” a frank assessment of what it’s like to walk into a suspicion-based game already carrying one of reality television’s most publicly scrutinized personal stories.