ABCYes, Colton Underwood talked about his virginity on The Bachelorette. And yes, ABC has been using it in promos for his season of The Bachelor, but Colton would like you to know he's more than just "Virgin Bachelor star Colton Underwood."
"I was very open and candid about my virginity and I think a lot of people maybe misunderstood it, or still don't understand why I am a virgin. I think those answers might come out this season, I don't know if people will ever be satisfied with the answer because they just don't understand who I am yet…The thing that I stress the most or at times I get frustrated with is it's just a small part of who I am," Colton told press during a call.
"Instead of it being ‘Colton Underwood, Bachelor,' it's ‘the virgin Colton Underwood,' or it's always led with or followed by ‘virgin.' Do I think that's right? No. Because it's a small part of who I am, it's like saying, ‘Colton Underwood, football player,' and I don't believe that either. I'm a human being. We're all human beings, we all have parts of our life that make us into a unique individual. That just happens to be a small part of my life, something that just makes me into who I am. I think that would probably be the one thing that I would say has been the hardest part since coming into being, if you want to call it, a public figure on the show. Sort of just having people put a label on you," he said.
But he has heard from "some of the most unexpected people from my life" who have reached out and related to him on the virginity topic. "It's been unbelievable," he said.
As for whether he's still a virgin, Colton played coy with E! News' Zuri Hall, as you can see in the video above. When asked about it again during a call with press, he remained mum on the topic. Sort of.
"I always said from the beginning I'm waiting for the right heart and somebody I can share the rest of my life with to share that moment with, and I think that's what The Bachelor is all about, trying to find that. Obviously if I answered that question, I would be spoiling the rest of the season and I wouldn't want to do that for you," Colton said. I will say, this season wasn't the easiest for me. There were ups and downs and at times it got really challenging, it got really hard and it really pushed me. It allowed me to grow and I think this is going to be an unbelievable season."
When asked if he's in love at the moment, Colton said he's "exactly where I need to be in my life right now." After The Bachelor, the former footballer said he's pretty happy.
"I would say I'm the happiest I've ever been right now and it's because I really have an understanding of who I am. Obviously I have a long way to go, I have a long way to grow. I'm not perfect," he said. However, having that realization let him understand himself more.
"I really have a sense of who I am and what I want to become. I might not have it all figured out, I might not have all the answers, but I at least have a sense of what I want out of life," he said.
The Bachelor premieres Monday, Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. on ABC.