Colton Underwood isn’t holding back.
In a newly released podcast interview with Bachelor Nation expert Reality Steve, the 28-year-old former football pro detailed his “falling out” with the reality TV franchise, going as far to say producers took “advantage” of and “abused” ex-girlfriend Cassie Randolph during her July appearance on a Greatest Seasons Ever special episode. But before revealing exactly why he’s “not in a good place” with the franchise, Colton revealed just how greatly his mental health suffered as a result of the show.
Recalling a Feb. 2019 incident in which a female fan allegedly groped him at a charity event, Colton shared, “I just remember feeling so powerless and like such a piece of meat. That for me was a big turning point in my mental health, of like, ‘Wow, I have no clue what I’m in for right now.’ And it got pretty bad. It got dark.”
Things only got worse for Colton when he wrapped production on his season of The Bachelor and came face-to-face with the “magnitude” of his sudden stardom. During a trip to Las Vegas with Jason Tartick and Blake Horstmann, Colton said he attended a concert where fans were fawning over him.
From that point on, Colton said he started experiencing social anxiety while out in public. “I had so much anxiety and so much depression that I was like, throughout the majority of my season [airing], I was pretty heavily medicated. I’m not gonna lie. I was taking medication for anxiety and for depression during the whole entire season,” he shared.
