The Bachelorette alum Tayshia Adams says she was very surprised when she learned former The Bachelor star Colton Underwood is gay.
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Many viewers were surprised Colton essentially decided to quit the show with Cassie before Fantasy Suites, but he was dubbed "The Virgin Bachelor" at the time and came across as a sweet, Christian man.
"Yeah!" Tayshia agreed of Colton's portrayal on the show during the latest episode of the Going to Bed with Garcelle podcast.
"See, I didn't think anything of it when it was happening. I didn't think [he skipped Fantasy Suites] because of something like that, [Colton being gay]."
Colton, who announced his split from Cassie after 18 months of dating in May 2020, officially came out as a gay man on the April 14 episode of Good Morning America.
Tayshia, who appeared to be falling in love with Colton on the show, admitted the former NFL player coming out as gay "kind of took me by surprise."
"You know, I remember -- it's so funny because the other day, I was at my house and I have actually found journals of me going through that process and me trying to figure out how [our romance] would look and really just working through that relationship," Tayshia revealed.
"It's kind of ironic that I just found that, but yeah, I didn't suspect it at all."
Cassie also didn't know Colton was gay during their relationship and only learned his sexual orientation when The Bachelor star came out publicly, People reported.
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Cassie has yet to address her feelings on the subject other than thanking fans for their support and kind comments.
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Tayshia added of her own experience dating Colton, "To be honest with you, the virgin factor never really triggered me either. Because, I mean, I waited until I was married [to have sex for the first time]. So I guess I found that really endearing, about his religion and whatnot."
Tayshia was previously married to her college sweetheart, Josh Bourelle.
Tayshia and Josh dated for four years and got married in February 2016. The pair separated in August 2017 and then Josh filed for divorce in October 2017.
Tayshia and Josh's divorce was finalized in April 2018 before she began filming Colton's season of The Bachelor in September of that year.
Tayshia recalled of Colton, "He made it known that it wasn't because of his religion that he didn't have sex but he really kept that sacred. So I kind of just brushed it off after that, like, 'It's not that big of a deal to me.'"
But Tayshia acknowledged she now looks back on Colton's season with a different outlook.
"I don't know if I could watch [his season] back at his point," Tayshia said with a laugh. "I'm good! I have my man!"
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Tayshia, who is in the beginning stages of planning her wedding, said her past is "absolutely" in the rearview mirror and there's no reason to look back now that things have changed so much, including her perspective on intimacy in relationships.
"I have such a different viewpoint on sex before marriage now. I think it's crucial, to be honest. It's so important in a relationship," Tayshia explained.
"It has such a big impact... You can have such a good connection with someone, but if the intimacy isn't there, it can be really bad."
Colton said during his GMA interview with Robin Roberts that he can understand why Cassie, Tayshia and the other The Bachelor women may feel like he had misled them.
"Do I regret handling [The Bachelor] the way that I did?' I do. I do think I could've handled it better, I'll say that... I just wish I didn't drag people into my own mess of figuring out who I was," Colton admitted.
He added, "I genuinely mean that. But at the same time, I can say 'sorry' to all of those women and also say 'thank you.' Because without them and without The Bachelor franchise, I don't know if I ever would have come out."
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Colton said he realized he was different at the age of six and came to the conclusion he was gay in high school.
But Colton explained he tried to convince himself he was straight by dating women and starring as the Bachelor.
After "hating" himself "for a long time," Colton revealed he finally accepted his sexuality earlier this year and has never been happier or healthier.
Colton -- who faced rumors he was gay while his The Bachelor season was airing -- said on GMA he's now "proud to be gay" and looking forward to meeting a male partner who can challenge him in new ways.
Prior to starring on The Bachelor, Colton found fame when he competed for Becca Kufrin's heart on The Bachelorette's fourteenth season in 2018.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
