"I think it was always a whisper in me that got louder and louder," The Bachelorette alum Gabby Windey shared on The View.
Since The Bachelor first premiered over two decades ago, viewers have come to expect the same format, season after season. Whether it’s a man looking for his wife amid a group of 30 women vying for his heart or a woman looking for her husband within a group of men, the show has pretty much stuck to the straight and narrow.
Despite all the heterosexual couplings, however, not all the contestants who have been a part of Bachelor Nation identify as straight. Since filming wrapped, a number of former contestants have come out as members of the LGBTQ+ community — and have given some heartwarming updates about their love life.
Read on to find out which Bachelor Nation contestants have come out as a member of the queer community …
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1. Gabby Windey
Gabby Windey first appeared on Clayton Echard’s season of The Bachelor before later becoming the Bachelorette herself in 2022. At the end of the show, Gabby got engaged to Erich Schwer, but the pair ultimately called it off. It wasn’t until August 2023 that Gabby revealed she was a member of the LGBTQ+ community and was dating a woman.
“I think it was always a whisper in me that got louder and louder and I didn’t know to pay attention to it. I think when this happens, there’s some shame surrounding it so I think I had to navigate through the shame,” she said on The View. “I don’t want to live and not be living my full truth. I don’t want to do that to myself. I don’t want to do it to my girlfriend.”
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2. Becca Tilley
Becca Tilley found herself looking for love on both Chris Soules and Ben Higgins’ seasons of The Bachelor but never walked away with the final rose. It wasn’t until 2018 that Becca finally found love when she met musician Hayley Kiyoko. The couple decided to keep the relationship under wraps for years as Becca navigated her LGBTQ+ journey.
In 2022, Becca finally confirmed she was dating Hayley when she starred in her “For the Girls” music video — and while it wasn’t a surprise to many fans, Becca was still nervous about how people would react.
“I’ve realized I have to give people a chance to prove me wrong,” she told The Cut. “I didn’t even give people a chance to be more open-minded than I thought. People were just rooting for me to find love. They just were rooting for my happiness.”
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3. Colton Underwood
Colton Underwood has been a big part of Bachelor Nation, taking part in Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette, then appearing on Bachelor in Paradise, and finally being named The Bachelor. At the end of the show, he walked away with Cassie Randolph — but their relationship proved to be tumultuous over the next few years, with Cassie filing a restraining order against Colton when their romance ended.
Through it all, Colton says he was struggling with coming to terms with his sexuality, telling Variety he was in “such a dark place” after the relationship ended because he knew he’d have to face his truth.
“I was a miserable person living as a shell of a human being, and being who the world wanted to see. I finally had to look myself in the mirror and say, ‘You’ve got to fix this,'” Colton shared.
In 2021, Colton finally came out as gay, sharing that he was the “happiest and healthiest” he’d ever been. Not long after, he met his partner Jordan C. Brown, and the couple are now married.
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4. Demi Burnett
Demi Burnett appeared on Colton Underwood’s season of The Bachelor and later went on to star on Bachelor in Paradise. It was during that show that Demi came out as bisexual, revealing that she had been dating a woman before coming on the show. Although Demi admitted she had a “fear of judgment” and a “fear of disappointing people” in her life, she ultimately decided it was the best decision.
Later in the season, the woman she had been dating, Kristian Haggerty, joined the cast, and the pair continued their relationship.
“At first I was scared, I was a little bit uncomfortable. I was like, ‘I don’t know how much I want to kiss her on camera.’ When she got [to Paradise] I was like, ‘I don’t care, I’m all over her,'” she said on Bachelor Happy Hour, adding, “But it gets a little bit uncomfortable just because it’s something nobody’s ever seen before…You kind of question everything and it made me very, very anxious. But I’m happy that I can at least be somebody who people can relate to that are struggling with the same things of being afraid to come out.”
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5. Elizabeth Corrigan
Elizabeth Corrigan was a contestant on Clayton Echard’s season of The Bachelor, and after the show wrapped, she decided to come out as bisexual. In honor of Pride Month, Elizabeth opened up, explaining that she didn’t know if there’d ever be a perfect time to come out but thought it needed to be said.
“It’s important to me today to share with you all that I am queer. More specifically I am, always have been, and always will be-bisexual. 🌈 If you know me personally you probably know this. Everytime I tell someone new this information I experience fear. Fear that it will end a business transaction, fear that I will make someone uncomfortable, fear that I would be ostracized from my family,” she wrote on Instagram.
She continued, “What’s more important to me at the end of the day -is to be me. Authentic. Genuine. Raw. So maybe one person will feel less alone… If you’re that one. I’ve got you. I’m here-I’ll answer. You are NOT alone. Hoping that one day the fear will turn to what it should be …PRIDE. Only love. All love. Today and each day to come. Moments matter.”
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6. Jasmine Goode
Jasmine Goode was a contestant on Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor and later appeared on Bachelor in Paradise. Since the show wrapped, Jasmine hasn’t appeared to have made any official coming out statement, but she has been dating her girlfriend Melissa since at least early 2021.
“Happy birthday to the woman who stole my heart. You make life fun and no matter where we go, you’re always the best view,” Melissa wrote on Instagram in 2023.
7. Alexa Caves
In early 2020, Alexa Caves appeared on Peter Weber’s season of The Bachelor. After being eliminated during the third week, Alexa says she received numerous questions about her sexuality. On Instagram, she opened up, telling followers she was sexually fluid.
“The amount of people that ask me about my sexuality in my DM’s is crazy. Lol I’ve been getting it since the first episode,” she wrote. “I’m fluid. I’ve been with women and I’ve been with men. I’m open minded. To me, this really isn’t a big deal. I just do my thang.”
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8. Josh Seiter
Josh Seiter first appeared on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette but was sent home in the first week. Since then, Josh has opened up about his sexuality, revealing that he identifies as pansexual.
“I don’t like labels and I don’t like being put into tiny boxes or categories. I would say I identify as pansexual. I love everybody equally regardless of gender,” he told TV Show Ace, sharing that he was dating a man at the time. “I’ve had a lot of disastrous relationships with women lately and I am excited to finally be in a healthy relationship.”
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