All the Times They Say ‘Virgin’ on The Bachelor This Season
Every season of The Bachelor, the show leans in hard on an interest or character trait of the current lead. Arie Luyendyk Jr., for example, had the whole car thing. Pilot Jake Pavelka got his own theme song, "On the Wings of Love." And for Colton Underwood, who heads up season 23, the big storyline is—drum roll—his virginity.
Underwood's sexual history has been a huge subject of fascination throughout his time on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, despite the former football player's saying, repeatedly, that he's not waiting for marriage or because of religious reasons. But even though he's is low-key about his virginity, The Bachelor is not. So it wasn't the biggest surprise when the promos for his season included the tagline, "What does he have to lose?"
Curious to see just how much this season of The Bachelor would talk about it, I decided to take note every time somebody said "virgin" or "virginity." The final number from the first episode alone was more than I expected, and that's not counting all the sexual innuendos—like Kirpa joking that cleaning Colton's teeth is as physical as she's going to get or the woman who dressed like a sloth because he "takes it slow." I ultimately kept those out because who wants to read a 15,000-word thesis on Colton's virginity?
The final number? 70. See the full list, below.
Episode 12: 9
"Will he end up alone...and still a virgin?" —Chris Harrison
"Maybe there's a chance he could lose his virginity after all." —Chris Harrison
"I am no longer a virgin…. I'm just kidding!" —Colton Underwood
"Will this be the time Colton does lose his virginity? Or does Cassie break his heart again?" —Chris Harrison
"To lose my virginity, it could happen tonight." —Colton Underwood
"Will this be the night Colton loses his virginity?" —Chris Harrison
"Is Colton still a virgin?" —Chris Harrison
"Did you lose your virginity?" —Chris Harrison
"I know I've been very open and candid about my virginity." —Colton Underwood
Episode 11: 4
"What about his virginity? We'll find out next." —Chris Harrison
"Things aren't looking good for Colton losing his virginity." —Chris Harrison
"Is Colton single and still a virgin?" —Chris Harrison
"What's the likelihood now of Colton actually losing his virginity?" —Chris Harrison
Episode 10 "The Women Tell All": 4
"Colton's a virgin…. How did you feel about that, honestly?" —Chris Harrison
"I was excited to explore a man that's a virgin." —Demi
"You definitely hit the virginity angle pretty hard." —Chris Harrison
"Are you still a virgin?" —Sydney
Episode Nine: 9
"There's no secret with my virginity." —Colton
"Being that Colton is a virgin, I assume that he does feel pressure for the fantasy suites." —Tayshia
"I said I would be ready to consider losing my virginity if I was in love." —Colton
"Extra virgin though." —Colton, about the olive oil in Portugal
"Me losing my virginity or not, I'm just excited to have intimate conversations."—Colton
"It's probably because I'm a virgin." —Colton
"The fact that Colton is a virgin is a pretty big deal." —Tayshia
"While I can be the first to make light of being a virgin..." —Colton
"I don't know if he'll wake up a virgin." —Tayshia
Episode Eight: 3
"Does it scare you the fact that he is a virgin?" —Hannah G.'s family member
"God, please let me survive this fall. I still have to lose my virginity." —Colton
"The fact that Colton is a virgin could make it or break it." —Tayshia
Episode Seven: 0 (!!!)
Episode Six: 2
"I wasn't worried with the whole virgin thing." —Kirpa
"Hopefully after tonight Colton won't be a virgin anymore." —Demi
Episode Five: 3
"Like, I'm not a virgin and that's a hard thing to talk about." —Cassie
"For you, it was being a virgin. For me, it was not being one." —Cassie
"It's kind of a scary thing…that different members of my extended family and community who don't know that I'm not a virgin, they might judge me for it." —Cassie
Episode Four: 3
"Could Colton lose his virginity in Singapore? Maybe!" —Demi
"Why are you a virgin?" —Colton
He also says the word virgin during his emotional date with Caelynn.
Episode Three: 1
"Colton's not a stretching virgin anymore, that's for sure." —Cassie
Episode Two: 14
"For most of my adult life, I had a secret: I was a virgin." —Colton
"For the first time, I told the truth about my virginity." —Colton
"So my story is about the first time I tried to date a virgin." —Tracy
"There was this gorgeous fraternity president and come to find out he's a virgin." —Tracy
"When I got ahold of him, he wasn't a virgin anymore, but it was the best sex he's ever had." —Tracy
"Like, why…are you a virgin?" ——Hannah B.
"My virginity is almost one of those things I look at and I'm like, I accidentally ended up like this." —Colton
"I made a commitment to myself when I was younger to be a virgin when I got married. And then I was in a relationship and that didn't happen." ——Hannah B.
"He doesn't even know that I'm a virgin. All that makes me nervous." —Heather
"This virgin moves fast." —Caelynn
"Um, you're a virgin." —Billy Eichner
"The last time I was around this many virgins? I was a guest on The View." —Billy
"Tell me about telling Becca about your virginity." —Heather
"I actually am a virgin, but I've also never kissed anyone before." * —Heather*
Episode One: 18
"I'm not a virgin, but sex is a big deal, so Colton's the Bachelor and [the fact that] he's a virgin is super appealing to me." —Hannah B.
"If I was the person that Colton gave his virginity to, I would definitely bring out all the tricks." —Onyeka
"I know that he's a virgin, which is kind of concerning." —Demi
"I am the first virgin bachelor." —Colton
"I was ready to lose my virginity to Becca." —Colton
"How much of the negativity and the 'He's not ready' do you think has to do with your virginity?" —Chris Harrison
"That's sort of the stigma around being a virgin—oh, he's not romantic...." —Colton
"So I have not dated a virgin since I was 12, but I'm excited to give it another shot." —Demi
"First one out and I had to bring up the virgin thing." —Demi
"Now that I've popped your cherry, we don't need to bring up virginity anymore." —Caitlin
"I feel like I never would have brought up his virginity right away because it's too personal. Like, 'Hi, I'm Nicole. I hear you're a virgin!'" —Nicole
"I think I just took your V-card." —Katie
"I just want to know why he's a virgin." —Erika
"At least he's a cute virgin." —Onyeka
"Everyone knows you're a virgin, so I want to know…why?" —Erika
"He kisses very well for a virgin." —Caelynn
Anna Moeslein is a senior editor at Glamour. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @annamoeslein.
