Colton Underwood is officially the newest Bachelor. ABC made the announcement about the 26-year-old former football player from Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette on Tuesday morning, surprising many — especially since he was just on Bachelor in Paradise.
“It was his good looks, love for dogs and vulnerability that charmed not only Bachelorette Becca Kufrin, but all of Bachelor Nation,” ABC said in a news release. “After a summer of growth and a new perspective on what he is looking for, Colton is more than ready for this next chapter.”
The “summer of growth” mentioned seems to be a subtle nod toward Underwood’s on-and-off relationship with Tia Booth on BIP. Underwood broke things off on an episode that just aired this week.
However, he’s apparently moved on from both Tia and Becca. “Obviously you can tell how it was all so emotional for me,” Underwood told PEOPLE. “But it was also good for me. I can’t say enough good things about Becca and enough good things about Tia. They’ve helped me grow and discover who I am and what I’m looking for in a wife.”
Underwood’s search — and the show’s plot — will almost certainly address the fact that he’s a virgin. “That’s one thing that I took pride in on both seasons: just being true to who I am,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “I think it took all of that to get to where I am at now, and know who I am as a person and know what I want in a life partner.”
Former Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky once claimed that “95 percent” of dates in the infamous fantasy suites result in sex, so Underwood’s virginity will certainly be discussed then, if not earlier. Sean Lowe, the 17th Bachelor, was known as a “born-again virgin,” and he waited to have sex with his then-fiancé Catherine Giudici until their wedding night. Underwood has frequently been compared to Lowe.
Here’s to hoping that like Lowe, Underwood also finds love (and that the season will be full of drama!).