This article contains spoilers for The Traitors Season Four, Episode Eight.
Colton Underwood knows he's a polarizing person.
The former NFL star became a reality-TV household name when he starred on The Bachelorette and The Bachelor before coming out as gay in 2021. At the time, Underwood explained that he decided to come out after someone attempted to blackmail him. But just one year before, Underwood made headlines when his ex, Cassie Randolph, who won his season of The Bachelor in 2019, filed a restraining order against him for allegedly stalking her.
Fast forward seven years, and Underwood is once again in the pop-culture hot seat, this time for his strategically aggressive gameplay on Peacock's The Traitors. Underwood was a ringleader among the Faithfuls, orchestrating the banishments of several key players, including two Traitors. He also found himself at the center of conflict when a verbal spat with Michael Rapaport at the roundtable ended with the actor seemingly making a dig about Underwood's sexuality, saying “nobody in this room would be better at holding a secret than you,” and, ultimately, exiting the show.
Given all the drama that follows him, Underwood isn't surprised when people on social media declare that they don't like him. “Who you see on Traitorsor who you saw on The Bacheloris not who I am in my everyday life now,” he tells Rolling Stone.
Underwood insists that fans don't know the real Colton. And how could they? He's the first to admit that it took a while before he could confidently say he knew himself. “I've been through a lot,” Underwood says. “But I've come out the other side, and I am in such a different place now.”
Rolling Stone caught up with Underwood the morning after he was murdered on The Traitors to discuss his time in the castle, online flashbacks over his past controversies, and if he'd ever be open to doing reality TV again.
I quite literally just watched you get murdered right before getting on this call. Did you have any idea that your time was coming?
I knew I was either going to get murdered or recruited. That was my mindset. I was pretty self-aware at that point that the only way I was going to see it at the end was to get recruited. I wasn't going to survive otherwise. I had played such a big game to that point, that was sort of a snowball for me — I couldn't pull back all of the sudden. If you do, that throws suspicion on you, too. I was playing the same game all the way through.
The Traitors actually had the option to recruit, but ultimately chose to murder you instead.
I think Candiace [Dillard Bassett] just didn't want to give Rob [Rausch] any more ammunition. It was her playing the last cards that she felt like she could play. When she said, “I want to cut the head off the snake,” it's like the only way she really could get to Rob, other than throwing a vote his way, was to take his number one out, which at that point was me.
Were you disappointed that you weren't recruited?
Oh, absolutely. The competitor in me obviously would have loved to stay. I knew going into the game that I wanted to play with confidence and conviction. So if I'm going to go for someone, I'm going all out. But I also knew that playing that type of game had an expiration date because it was just too big.
Underwood Hon The Traitors
Euan Cherry/Peacock
You did play quite an aggressive game and were certainly not afraid to call people out. We saw you take down two Traitors, Donna Kelce and Lisa Rinna. But that approach also rubbed some players the wrong way, which really seemed to come to a head with Rapaport. Have you spoken to him since that episode aired?
His comment felt like a low blow. I don't think Michael is a homophobe, but in the moment, it felt personal and outside of the game, which I didn't love. I have spoken to Michael, and he apologized, and I moved past it. I'm not one to hold grudges. I'm sure it will come up if we are both at the reunion, but I'm not holding on to any animosity. I grew up in locker rooms, and Michael is the quintessential fast talker — put your foot in your mouth, say something dumb. He's openly admitted that, too.
Is there a moment from this season that you're especially proud of?
When I got Lisa out, for sure. I was the first one to bring her name up, and it took a couple of roundtables to get her out. But, for me, it was the validation that I needed of, OK, I'm on the right page here, and I'm holding my own.
I'm very proud of how I played. I knew it was different. I'm a very intense competitor. If there is a prize to win, I play to win. I could see how some people who were just meeting me would be like, “Who is this guy?” And it's a heightened, campy, theatrical show that I had so much fun doing.
A lot of people who followed your Bachelor franchise journey were surprised to see the way you presented yourself on The Traitors. Hon The Bacheloryou were much more reserved and shy than you appear to be today.
At this point in my life, I'm filled with happiness and joy, and I'm proud of my journey. My journey is not perfect. I'm far from perfect. And to be honest, when I think about my life, I feel like I've almost lived three lives: my athlete was with football, my Bachelor was, and now as an out gay man who is married to an incredible husband and is a dad. I've never felt more comfortable in my skin. I know who I am as a human being: I am flawed, I went through something extremely challenging and difficult, and I made mistakes. I can understand how jarring it is for people who might not have followed me the last six years, who have just watched me Bachelor season, and then all of a sudden they're like, “Who is this person?” I've been through a lot, and I do try to focus on the positive here. There are a lot of people who support me, and I represent a community I'm really proud to show up for. But I have seen some of the chatter online and people who barely know me now, as the husband and father that I am, making claims about my character.
As soon as it was announced that you were cast on The Traitorsand especially as the season began airing, a conversation surrounding your time on The Bachelor and your relationship with Cassie started swirling online. Some people even went as far as to question whether you deserved to be on the show. What's your response to that?
I totally understand that when they research me, you can find [information about the case]. What I would say is, I would hope nobody would take one of the darkest and worst moments of my life and use that to define me. The context that is lacking is the pressure, the threats, and the blackmail I was dealing with at the time. The isolation. I wasn't out. I had to come out to my professional team before I was able to come out to my family, and I was still coming out to myself. It took a lot of personal work.
I hope a lot of people understand that it wasn't like I was trying to lie or deceive. I was fully convinced that the more that I tried to be straight, I could actually do it. It put me in a position that I would hope no other closed person and or human being would put themselves in. Rock bottom hits. Since all of that happened, I have said I'm sorry for the mistakes that I've made in my past — the accountability that I've taken, I try to move forward with the understanding of the growth and who I am in this part of my life.
Some of the conversations happening are inaccurate as well, but I'm not someone who's going to go in and rehash every little detail. I am in such a different place. That's also what makes this situation much easier than it was in 2020. When all this was first happening, I was alone and didn't have a support system that I do now.
This was a private matter that was handled by the parties privately. This happened six years ago, and there's been a lot of life that has happened. There's been a lot of lessons learned. [Underwrood and Randolph reached a private settlement in November 2020, leading to the dismissal of a temporary restraining order. The allegations of stalking and harassment against Underwood were also dropped.]
Do you feel misunderstood from your time being on TV?
When I look back at my career in television and in the spotlight, I've always had to deal with things in a serious way. I filmed three shows [The Bachelorette, The Bachelor, and Bachelor in Paradise] almost back to back. And in a lot of ways, I used it as an escape because I didn't have an identity at that point. I didn't want to come to terms with looking at myself in the mirror. So when people meet me in real life now, they're surprised to see that I'm a very lighthearted person. I'm a goofball. It's hard because when you're on TV, you're putting on a show. The editors choose to play what version of the story they need to play, but there are a lot of lighthearted moments and things about me that aren't always so serious or so intense. I don't think it's fair for people to judge me for how I showed up on Traitorsas if that's who I am in my real life. I was in a castle in Scotland, dressing ridiculously. I loved it.
Looking back at the past decade of your life and through the highs and the lows, what's the biggest thing you've learned about yourself?
I would tell myself everything was going to be OK. I spiraled really hard, and it felt really isolating. And the truth is, once I slowly started coming out, a lot of people understood and had my back. There's a lot of regret that I have in [terms of] the people that I hurt, including friends, family, and fans who I let down. I have this platform for a reason, to share the good, the bad, and the ugly. Over these past few years, I've fallen on my face and I've celebrated the birth of my son. So I definitely do have highs and lows. I just wish I could tell [the former] version of myself that everything is going to be OK.
Would you do another reality show? I'm sure eventually there will be a Traitors: All Stars.
Going through this has been really challenging, I'm not gonna lie. I've had to deal with death threats, and I've had to deal with people having my address and writing emails and DMs about my son and my husband, and that's really hard. Everybody sees the highs and the light of what Traitors brings, but I now have to make decisions for my family. Of course, I'd be honored. There's probably no other show that I would say yes to quicker than another Traitors experience. But there's still a level of discussion that I have to have with my family, if you put yourself back out there again.
