Colton Underwood didn't feel "ready" to attend Pride celebrations until now.
Colton Underwood wasn't ready for Pride celebrations
The former 'Bachelor' star came out as gay three years ago but felt he had to "put the work in" to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community and his place within it before he could take part in public events celebrating his sexuality.
He told Us Weekly magazine: “Not that I didn’t feel qualified, I just wasn’t ready yet.
“It’s taken me a few years to really put the work in. To learn and advocate and fight next to our community and understand where I fit in in all of that.”
The 32-year-old star acknowledged he was likely to be celebrating alongside “people who maybe had judged me in the past or had things to say when my Netflix show was coming out or even still might not totally agree with how I’ve handled everything.”
But he added: "We’re all part of the same community. We have each other’s backs and nobody can get in between us.”
Colton and his husband Jordan Brown are expecting their first baby via surrogate but he insisted he isn't "nervous" about impending fatherhood because he's been waiting for it for a long time.
He said: “I’ve been on a rollercoaster now for almost two years going through this process with Jordan.
“We’re at a place now where we’re just so overwhelmed with joy and excitement. There aren’t really nerves. When you’re tried for two years, you’re kind of ready for it.”
And the former footballer is thankful for the support he and Jordan have around them.
He said: “It’s been so cool to have so many people in our lives send us products, tips, books, all of these different things. We’ve felt so supported and so loved. That’s felt really good.”
Colton previously admitted his desire to be a father had been one of the reasons why he struggled with his sexuality.
He told Men's Health magazine: "One of the first things that Jordan and I bonded over was our want to be fathers. That was especially important because, as I've been on my coming out journey, [wanting to be a dad] was one of the factors that kept me in the closet. I didn't really know it was possible to build a family as a gay man, until I came out, until I started having more conversations with Jordan and started educating myself."