With his time on “The Traitors” at an end, Colton Underwood is taking time to reflect on his reality TV fame as well as his public ― and, at times, controversial ― journey to living as his true self.

Underwood had a brief, if unremarkable, stint in the NFL before rising to national prominence as a contestant on “The Bachelorette” and, later, as the star of “The Bachelor.” Appearing on Thursday’s episode of Grindr’s “Who’s the A**hole? with Katya” podcast, he said he now believes he might have gone further in his football career if he’d been able to play as an out gay man.

“I was so compartmentalized and I pushed and suppressed all these feelings and anger and anxiety,” he said. “If I could’ve just fully been myself, would I have been a better player?”

Despite his attempts at hiding his sexuality while in the NFL, Underwood said, “It’s always in the back of your mind ... especially in a locker room.”

Watch Colton Underwood talk about his experience in the NFL below.

“It’s like, OK, I don’t want to look too long,” he added. “But then there’s, like, this weird homoeroticism that happens in locker rooms where they talk openly about each others’ privates ... it’s just a whole performative thing that goes on.”

Underwood came out as gay in an emotional interview on “Good Morning America” in 2021. Despite criticisms of both his “Bachelor” past and a subsequent Netflix docuseries chronicling his coming-out experience, the 34-year-old has since become an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. In 2023, he married political strategist Jordan C. Brown. The two men welcomed a son, Bishop Colton Brown-Underwood, a year later.

Elsewhere in his “Who’s the A**hole?” chat, Underwood said Brown, who worked on former President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns, “matches and checks every box that I’ve ever wanted.” Still, he tried to keep their romance “under wraps for as long as possible” at first.

Watch Underwood chat about the early days of his relationship with husband Jordan C. Brown below.

“We fell in love very quickly,” he said. “I credit that to the ‘Bachelor’ style [of] dating, and what I took from that show.”

Season 4 of “Who’s the A**hole? with Katya” kicked off last week with an appearance by actor and drag icon Jinkx Monsoon. Previous guests also include Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy and “Hacks” actor and comedian Meg Stalter.

A “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Drag Race All Stars” veteran, Katya said the focus of “Who’s the A**hole?” is to foster “open conversations with about the realities of queer dating and relationships,” citing the late Dr. Ruth Westheimer as an inspiration.

“Everyone can be an asshole when it comes to dating, but nobody wants to admit it. That’s where I come in — to get the dirt on everyone!” the performer told HuffPost last year. “My job is to make sure everyone feels comfortable enough to have these conversations and make these topics less taboo ― I mean, everyone fucks and everyone can be an asshole. Just look at me.”

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