Tia Booth may not have found love in Bachelor Nation, but she’s thankful that her short-lived romance with Colton Underwood led her to meet new beau Cory Cooper.
Booth confessed her love for Underwood, both 27, while he vied for Becca Kufrin’s heart on The Bachelorette season 14. They later briefly dated on Bachelor in Paradise season 5 before the former NFL free agent got the Bachelor gig.
The Arkansas native is following her ex-boyfriend’s journey and hopes that he finds The One. “People ask about him and I can be nothing but supportive for him, because I’m in this relationship I’m in now because of the show and because of the heartbreak,” Booth exclusively told Us Weekly at the Isn’t It Romantic premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday, February 11, which she attended with Cooper. “So I’m excited.”
Booth, who previously appeared on Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s Bachelor season 22 in 2018, also weighed in on Underwood’s decisions as his season unfolds. “I think he’s doing well, based on the crazy situation that he’s in,” she explained. “But I think he’s really serious about it and he’s actually doing it for the right reasons.”
The physiotherapist hopes that the Legacy Foundation creator finds his happy ending, just as she has. “It’s going really well [with Cory],” Booth gushed to Us on Monday. “I wouldn’t want to be here with anybody else and I think he feels the same, so we’re excited to be here.”
A source confirmed to Us in November that Booth and the Cooper Steel vice president are dating. She made their relationship Instagram official just hours before ABC dropped the first trailer for Underwood’s season.
Although they have both moved on, Booth remains close friends with Underwood. “I think we both really wanted to make it work. Turns out he wasn’t [ready for the relationship], but it’s OK. It all worked out how it was supposed to,” she exclusively told Us in August after their breakup. “I’ll always love him. I think he’ll always love me, just in a friendly way.”
