I watched Colton when he was "The Virgin Bachelor" on The Bachelorette. He got far in the competition, no doubt, because of his looks. But I never bought what Colton was selling. I suspected he may be gay or he just made up the virgin story to draw attention to himself and stand out.
When ABC picked him for The Bachelor, I was disappointed. There were other guys in the running who I believed were better and more authentic choices. But The Virgin Bachelor was apparently more interesting. So the viewers watched as he wasted all these women's time. His eventual "winner" was Cassie who was lovely. She didn't feel chemistry and wanted off the show. But Colton (and the Producers) got her to
stay. The two began a relationship. Who knows what that relationship looked like but it ended with Cassie filing a restraining order against him for stalking.
Now we have Coming Out Colton. I'm all for a celebrity sharing a coming out story. But is Colton someone to care about? I've seen the first two episodes and found parts of them cringe worthy. His coming out to his mother, father, brother, and best friend is something that should have been done in private. Whether he was truly coming out to them for the first time, or these were re-enactments, he was wrong to put his loved ones in this position. Next for me is the big reveal to his ex high school football coach whom he hadn't seen in years. Unnecessary. The coach seemed mortified being put on the spot.
The show should have focused completely on his life after coming out. Better yet, why not choose a newly out celebrity whose past is less sketchy.
The series does have some important things to say about the difficulties in coming out, especially for athletes. But I found myself more intrigued with Colton's friend, Olympian Gus Kenworthy, who dealt with his own coming out in a much more admirable way.
Colton's ex Cassie made the right move avoiding this whole thing. Colton should take a lesson from her and start living his life in the real world away from reality TV. We've had enough.
