It’s official! Former pro football player Colton Underwood will officially be the star of season 23 of The Bachelor. The Tuesday, September 4, announcement received mixed reviews, as they always do. However, it also raised some very important questions.
During this week’s “Watch With Us” podcast, we broke down the many components that are up in the air heading into this season. Listen to the full episode for more, but here are a few questions that need answering:
What About Tia?
The 26-year-old was into Tia Booth before he went on to Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette. He was so into her that he went onto Bachelor in Paradise after leaving The Bachelorette and began dating her AGAIN, before deciding to officially part ways. Is there a chance she’ll show up on this season? She says no, but fans always love when the ex shows up. I wouldn’t count out the chance that she realizes some underlying feelings that she just has to share. Also, will the theme “Is he over her?” take over? Because that seems to already be stale.
How Big Will the Virginity Play Into This?
During The Bachelorette, Colton was terrified to reveal to Becca and the rest of the world that he was a virgin. He broke down in tears during Men Tell All, revealing that he had always thought he would be looked at as less than a man because of it. However, we saw this when Becca Tilley was on The Bachelor and heading to the fantasy suites and we saw an entire season of it with Sean Lowe. We saw it over and over again with Ashley Iaconetti. It’s not news that someone has chosen not to have sex. So, should the contestants who have had sex announce that during a dramatic dinner? No. Let’s move on.
Will Aly Raisman be brought up?
During his time on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, Colton kept quiet about his relationship with the gymnast. He told Us in July that was because “she’s going through enough right now,” referring to her involvement in the Larry Nassar case. “There’s no reason to distract from what she’s doing right now,” he said. However, it’s likely that during The Bachelor, he’ll be opening up to multiple women about his past relationships, including the serious one he had with Raisman between 2016 and 2017.
The Bachelor will premiere in January 2019.
For more TV news and exclusive interviews, subscribe to the “Watch With Us” podcast.
