All over eighth class, Underwoods dad noticed some thing on their sons computers escort girl Cedar Rapids that increased a banner. aˆ?Gay porno had been type of what I gravitated towards,aˆ? Underwood acknowledges, clenching their jaw.

aˆ?i simply said that I became inquisitive and I also was checking out and just looking,aˆ? Underwood says. aˆ?from the having that dialogue with your being like, aˆ?merely dont tell mother.aˆ?

After school baseball, Underwood registered the NFL draft, being closed as a no cost representative because of the north park Chargers, then joining the Philadelphia Eagles rehearse squad in addition to Oakland Raiders. Their homophobia only drove him further to the closet.

Prior to aˆ?The Bachelor,aˆ? within his mid-20s, Underwood had several intimate knowledge with guys, he shows

aˆ?Growing up in sports, I was educated that gay is actually wrong and gay was bad and basketball professionals are not homosexual,aˆ? Underwood says. aˆ?By the time we recognized that I found myself gay, we didnt desire to be gay. It actually was possible for me to conceal in plain picture behind a football mask and searching and fishing while the items that this world informs us was aˆ?masculine and aˆ?manly.aˆ?

He remembers whenever Michael Sam became one openly homosexual user drafted of the NFL in 2014, nobody in the locker room backed the idea

After leaving the NFL in 2016, Underwood came across an arbitrary casting call in Denver your aˆ?Bacheloraˆ? franchise. Manufacturers took a fast preference to your. Within a few months, he had been on a plane to Los Angeles, as a contestant on Becca Kufrins season of aˆ?The Bachelorette,aˆ? which broadcast in 2018. The guy turned a fan best, showed up on aˆ?Bachelor in Paradiseaˆ? and in the end arrived the starring character on month 23 of aˆ?The Bacheloraˆ? in 2019. Element of his appeal was actually his innocence: the guy turned into referred to as aˆ?the Virgin Bachelor,aˆ? and promotional supplies plastered his face-on a poster much like Judd Apatows aˆ?The 40-Year-Old Virgin.aˆ?

Underwood says the guy didnt in the beginning supply any information about their virginity. But when he didnt practice aˆ?locker space banteraˆ? with male contestants in the house in 2018, that generated a number of questions.

aˆ?The producers, competitive with they might be, most likely acquired about how uncomfortable I became acquiring,aˆ? Underwood says. The guy never ever considered more comfortable with the marketing material for their period of aˆ?The Bachelor,aˆ? but he doesnt hold a grudge. aˆ?I mean, they had to complete the things they must would,aˆ? he states.

Through the years, Underwood have continuously slammed aˆ?The Bacheloraˆ? when you look at the hit for overplaying his virginity. Today, the guy offers an olive branch.

aˆ?I found myself constantly in search of a person responsible,aˆ? he states of his anger. aˆ?I was passive-aggressive for the franchise after it absolutely was completed. But out of the blue, when I got being released, anything started to render so much more feeling. I happened to be a miserable individual residing as a shell of a person being, and being just who the entire world desired to see. I finally must appear me into the mirror and state, aˆ?Youve have got to correct this.aˆ?

aˆ?Ill say this,aˆ? the guy begins with a long stop. aˆ?I was aˆ?the Virgin Bachelor, but used to do experiment with boys in advance of getting on aˆ?The Bachelorette.aˆ?

The guy verifies he was, in reality, a virgin as he is in the ABC tv series. aˆ?When I state aˆ?hookups, maybe not gender,aˆ? Underwood claims. aˆ?i do want to create that clear that I didn’t have sexual intercourse with men, before that.aˆ? He discloses he accompanied the matchmaking software Grindr under an alias in 2016 or 2017. (Hes currently solitary, but not any longer on app.)