As Colton grew older, he abstained from sex with female partners, which caused some speculation about his sexual identity among his peers, especially his teammates.
“It was one of those things where you hear something so often, you start believing it,” he says. “I thought, maybe I am gay. The captain of the football team should be having sex and drinking, right? But I wasn’t.”
The rumors were so abundant Colton said his parents ended up confronting him about it. He recalled his mother telling him, “You know, Colt, we’d still love you and support you if you were gay.”
The speculation continued into Colton’s adulthood, even after he dated Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman and appeared on Becca Kufrin‘s season of The Bachelorette, as well as Bachelor in Paradise. It was during this time that his virginity became a topic of discussion, but his friends and loved ones were “proud” that he was open and honest about it.