It’s a bleak time in Bachelor Nation, with the upcoming season of The Bachelorette indefinitely postponed, Paradise looking doubtful this year, and Summer Games officially canceled. Sure, Listen To Your Heart is premiering later this month, but are we really going to watch that? Okay, probably yes, because desperation, but if you’re looking for some alternate Bachelor Nation entertainment, you might want to check out Colton Underwood’s memoir, which was released this week.
In the tell-all book, which is called The First Time: Finding Myself and Looking for Love on Reality TV, Colton shares stories about all the things you want to know, from The Bachelorette to Bachelor in Paradise to The Bachelor. I mean, there’s some other stuff too, but Colton knows what we really want. You can order the book now if you want all the tea, but here’s a rundown of the most important new information he shared.
His Relationship With Aly Raisman
As you may or may not know, before his Bachelor Nation career began, Colton dated gymnastics legend Aly Raisman. He famously asked her out over social media after the 2016 Olympics, and they ended up dating for several months. At the time, they both kept their relationship pretty low-key, but Colton takes this opportunity to share some details we haven’t heard before.
Colton writes Aly asked if he was a virgin on their second date, but that “the slow lane was fine with both of us.” He also shares that he told Raisman he loved her because he thought she said it first, but he had actually misheard her. Pretty sure that is my worst nightmare. Raisman told him she wasn’t ready to say it at the time, but she ultimately did a month later, after opening up to him about being sexually abused. Colton recalls that moment, saying that “Hearing her say those words in the midst of all that she was dealing with, it made me fall in love with her all over again.”
Ultimately, the relationship didn’t last, and Aly Raisman broke up with Colton over FaceTime after seeing him in Houston for an event. That’s sad, but thankfully their breakup paved the way for so many Bachelor memories…
The Tia Timeline
Colton reveals that when he was being cast for The Bachelorette, he was asked which of the current women he would be interested in. He picked Becca Kufrin, Lauren Burnham, and Tia Booth, and followed all three of them on Instagram. Lol, honestly, I respect that move. He says that Tia quickly responded to one of his stories, and that “We exchanged numbers and texted fast and furiously throughout the day and night. It didn’t seem like either of us slept. Two days later, I FaceTimed with her.” Ah, young love.
After he got cast on the show, he still didn’t know who would be the Bachelorette. In that window of time, he met Tia for the first time, writing that he “wanted a head start on all the other guys.” He compares it to preparing for “a big game,” which like, ew, I’m not here to talk about sports. Obviously, Tia didn’t end up getting chosen, and Colton says that they made plans to meet up in Paradise.
Meeting Becca
Obviously, Colton competed on Becca’s season, but given everything that went down with Tia (both before and after), that barely matters. Colton does spill that he actually met Becca via FaceTime before filming started… WHILE SHE WAS ON VACATION WITH TIA. Wow, I really wish the cameras were there on that girls’ trip. Colton eventually told Tia that he was going to do the show no matter who got chosen. I guess Tia was fine with all of this, but damn, Colton was really in it to win it with these women.
He & Cassie Broke Up
Okay, don’t panic, they broke up last year, but are back together now. They split for a brief period in August of 2019, though Colton says that “nothing big happened” to cause the split. Basically, they were on two different pages about how fast things were going. He shares, “It boiled down to me wanting to get engaged, wanting to set a timeline, and simply putting too much pressure on her when, in reality, none was needed.” That night, Cassie left in tears, but luckily she came back the next day, and they talked things out.
His Virginity
We finally have answers! Though he says “none of your business” when it comes to the exact details, Colton strongly implies that he and Cassie had sex in the Fantasy Suite on The Bachelor, and I really hope that’s true. Congrats Colton, and thanks for telling us what we’ve all been dying to know.
It seems like Colton and Cassie are pretty happy these days, and now that he’s safely recovering from COVID-19, he can get back to promoting his book like planned. Actually, he should probably get to work on an extra coronavirus chapter for the second printing, because I would definitely read about that. If these details weren’t enough for you, then go ahead and order the book—at least it’ll give you something to do that’s not just staring at the TV.
Images: DFree / Shutterstock.com; aly_raisman / Twitter
