Bachelor Nation Alumni Who Opened Up About Their Sexuality After the Show

From Gabby Windey to Colton Underwood, these reality stars continued sharing their journeys after the cameras stopped rolling

These Bachelor Nation alums are sharing their stories.

In August 2023, Gabby Windey — who co-headlined her season of The Bachelorette with Rachel Recchia — revealed on The View that she was now dating a woman. She also shared some sweet photos of her new romance on Instagram along with the caption: "Told you I’m a girls girl!!"

From Colton Underwood coming out on Good Morning America in 2021 to Becca Tilley's decision to open up about her relationship with Hayley Kiyoko in 2022, these reality stars have opened up about their journeys of self-discovery following their first appearances in the Bachelor franchise.

Here are their stories, in their own words.

Gabby Windey

Gabby Windey concluded her season of The Bachelorette — which she co-headlined with Rachel Recchia — engaged to Erich Schwer, but the pair didn't last, and they announced their split in November 2022. Several months later, in August 2023, revealed on The View that she was dating a woman.

“I always just want to live my truth, and my story,” she told the co-hosts. "And so I have been seeing someone for a couple months, and I’ve been keeping it a little more private because it is like a bigger story and a bigger conversation, because I’m dating a girl!”

She went on to discuss how the relationship came to be following the end of her engagement.

"I had finally had time to settle in L.A. and I think it was always a whisper in me that just got louder and louder and I didn’t really know to pay attention to it," she explained.

“When this happens, there's some shame, obviously, surrounding it,” she continued. “So I think I had to, a little bit, navigate through the shame. Like, what is it? Where's it coming from? But ultimately, like I said, I always just want to kind of do me, do what I want, figure it out later.”

In addition to the talk-show appearance, Windey also shared a carousel of photos on Instagram with her girlfriend, comedian and TV writer Robby Hoffman, alongside the caption, "Told you I’m a girls girl!!"

Becca Tilley

After a very public year-long relationship with fellow Bachelor Nation alum Robert Graham, Becca Tilley wanted to keep her next love a bit more private. To that end, Tilley did not confirm her relationship with singer Hayley Kiyoko until 2022 — four years after they began dating.

The two went public at a release party for Kiyoko's Bachelor-themed music video for "For the Girls," where the two shared a hug and a kiss onstage. They later made it social media official.

Afterward, Tilley opened up on her podcast, Scrubbing In with Becca Tilley and Tanya Rad, about how it felt to officially share the news. "I was prepared for anything and everything," she said. "I was not prepared for the amount of love and support that we got. Like, I just could have never predicted."

Months later, Kiyoko appeared as a guest on Tilley's podcast and got emotional recalling Tilley's coming out process.

"When we started dating, I was ready to have a public relationship," the singer shared. "When we were navigating her experience and where she was at in her journey, that obviously shifted. But it was worth it to me because I wanted to be in a relationship with her, and I never felt like she was hiding me."

Tilley later added that she felt "really proud of us navigating those hard conversations. I had my own stuff going on, but I was so certain of her. It was never like I had doubts about her or was ashamed of her."

Colton Underwood

Colton Underwood came out as gay during a sit-down interview with Robin Roberts that aired on Good Morning America in 2021.

"I've ran from myself for a long time. I've hated myself for a long time, and I'm gay. And I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it," the reality star said. "The next step in all of this was letting people know. I'm still nervous. It's been a journey, for sure."

"I'm emotional, but in such a good, happy, positive way," he added. "I'm the happiest and healthiest I've ever been in my life, and that means the world to me."

The news came a few years after his season of The Bachelor wrapped. While the season did not end in an engagement, he gave his final rose to contestant Cassie Randolph and the two dated until May 2020 when their romance ended in a tumultuous split.

Not long after the sitdown, Underwood confirmed his relationship to political strategist Jordan C. Brown, and the two were married in Napa, Calif., in May 2023.

Demi Burnett

After appearing on Underwood's season of The Bachelor, Demi Burnett returned to the franchise on the sixth season of Bachelor in Paradise. Ahead of the season premiere, it was teased that Burnett would be involved in a romance with another woman, as Bachelor Nation's first same-sex couple.

In response to the teaser, Burnett tweeted: “Spoiler alert: I’m a queer queen.”

Burnett and Kristian Haggerty had begun dating before the Bachelor alumna took off for the island. Haggerty later joined her, despite having never been on a Bachelor franchise show, and by the finale the two were engaged.

After leaving paradise, however, the pair later broke up.

Alexa Caves

After her departure from Peter Weber's season of The Bachelor in 2020, Alexa Caves opened up about her sexuality on Instagram after saying she'd received numerous questions on the topic since first appearing on the show.

“The amount of people that ask me about my sexuality in my DM’s is crazy,” she wrote. “LOL, I’ve been getting it since the first episode. It is by far the question I get asked the most.”

She continued: “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. People in my life know this about me. But I thought that I’d share this because some people are curious and I’m not ashamed of who I am.”

Elizabeth Corrigan

After appearing on Clayton Echard's season of The Bachelor in 2022, Elizabeth Corrigan came out in an Instagram post during Pride Month.

"It's hard to know the right way to say these things, or the right time," Corrigan began the post, which included a photo of her in a rainbow bandeau top. "Today seems like both and neither. Waking up this morning to my first Pride in NYC I was so excited. I sprung out of bed, went to get a coffee-bought a flag- and quickly began feeling anxious. Overwhelmingly so. Am I ready? No. Am I scared? Yes."

She continued: "Will 'the right time' come? Qualify it. 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."

The reality star ended the post sharing, "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."

Jaimi King

When Jaimi King opened up about having previously dated a woman during her tenure on season 21 of The Bachelor, it was a historic moment on the franchise, per Refinery29 in 2017. The outlet explained that while some labeled her bisexual, that is not quite the label she'd use herself.

"I never liked labels — well, okay, it's funny. I started listening to Nico Tortorella's podcast The Love Bomb. And he talks about sexuality and stuff, and I don't know all there is to know," she told the outlet. "I know about me and a couple of my friends. But he brought up a good point of hetero and homo romanticism. I realized that I think I am a homo-romantic, because I feel like I could fall in love with anyone, and I have. And sexually, I go homosexual as well. I guess it basically is bisexual. But I don't want to narrow myself down to two sexes or genders. 'Fluid' would be more open to everything — not just male or female."

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