Ugh, Cassie Was Blindsided When Colton Came Out On GMA
She had zero heads up.
After Colton Underwood came out as gay on Good Morning America on April 14, 2021, pretty much everyone (except Billy Eichner) was shocked. Although Underwood had already privately opened up about his sexuality to some Bachelor Nation friends, one very important person was left out of the conversation: Cassie Randolph, Underwood’s ex whom he allegedly stalked and harassed. Since then, she has (understandably) stayed pretty quiet on the whole situation, leaving many fans to wonder how Randolph really felt when Underwood came out. Now, it seems like Randolph is ready to answer that question — at least, partially.
During a March 22 episode of Kaitlyn Bristowe’s Off The Vine podcast, Randolph revealed how she first learned about Underwood’s GMA appearance, and it was far from ideal. “I found out the same way that everyone else did. I was actually in Mexico on vacation with friends, which was great — great to be away,” she explained. “But yeah, I found out, I think through Snapchat on GMA. It was horrible.”
Apparently, she had no clue that Underwood was struggling with his sexuality. Randolph added, “It was just, like, a shocking kind of feeling.”
Randolph didn’t go into too much detail about what happened though. “I just feel, like, so much pressure... when asked about it. I’d love to be open and candid about things, but I’m just not there yet,” she told Bristowe. And considering her history with Underwood, that only makes sense.
In the past, Randolph made it clear that she wasn’t comfortable discussing her ex. When Netflix announced Coming Out Colton back in April 2021, she told her YouTube subscribers, “Regarding the topic in the media that brought my name up this week, I just wanted to let you know that I’m not going to be further discussing it and commenting on it for now. There’s a lot of layers to it, and I just think the best thing for me at this time is to move forward, and just focus on going forward.”
Nearly a year later though, it sounds like Randolph is warming up to the idea of sharing her side of things. For the Season 26 finale, she made her return to the Bachelor stage, and she did not hold back. On March 14, Randolph said she had “déjà vu” from watching Clayton Echard’s finale. (ICYMI, it played out a lot like Underwood and Randolph’s own finale with the frontrunner, Susie Evans, having clear reservations about the Bachelor, but still being chased by him.) At the time, Randolph said that she hoped Evans “doesn’t feel pressured, whether that’s pressure from him to have a relationship or pressure to give a happy ending to the show.”
Instantly, people drew a connection between her advice to Evans and what happened with Underwood. Randolph expected as much. “I had a feeling when I was saying that people were going to allude to that... There was definitely an aspect of pressure, obviously cause you’re on this huge national show,” she told Bristowe. “It’s overwhelming... Do I want to? Is this the right decision for me? Is this the right decision for him? For the show? It would’ve been nice to have, like, a week to think about things.” A full week to consider a life-changing decision? Bachelor Nation could never...
Though Randolph’s relationship to the Bachelor franchise and media, in general, is still up in the air, it does seem like she’s starting to feel more comfortable voicing her opinion — doubts included. And really, that might be exactly what we need to hear. As long as Randolph is comfortable, I’m here for it.
