Bachelor Nation Alums Share Their LGBTQ+ Coming Out Stories 

Gabby Windey, Colton Underwood and more Bachelor Nation alums are living their most authentic lives after appearing on the franchise.

Windey, for her part, revealed in August 2023 that she is dating a woman for the first time. The season 19 Bachelorette, who split from ex-fiancé Erich Schwer in 2022 after a televised proposal, sparked a romance with comedian Robby Hoffman.

“I didn’t really know to pay attention to it,” Windey said during an appearance on The View about realizing she was attracted to women. “I think when this happens, there’s some shame obviously surrounding it, so I think I had to a little bit navigate through the shame. Like, what is it? Where is it coming from? But ultimately, I always just want to kind of do me, do what I want, figure it out later.”

She continued: “I was on dating shows dating men and a Broncos cheerleader, so it was like my whole world was male-gaze. … Obviously, it’s about sexuality, but it’s also the person I met. Like, she is so special. She makes me feel so safe, so loved.”

Underwood, for his part, publicly came out as gay in April 2021, one year after splitting from Cassie Randolph, who he met when he was the season 23 Bachelor. Shortly after Underwood came to terms with his sexuality, the former football player found love with Jordan C. Brown. They wed in May 2023.

Scroll down to find out which other members of Bachelor Nation are proudly waving rainbow flags — and read their coming out stories: