Colton Underwood Threw Shade At ‘The Bachelor’ When Asked About Engagement Rings

Colton Underwood is no stranger to serving the tea piping hot when it comes to his time on the The Bachelor, and his latest comments about the franchise is no different. The reality star was asked about whether he was planning to propose to girlfriend Cassie Randolph with the Neil Lane sparkler that each contestant is gifted at the end of their journey to finding love — and his response is so shady. Brace yourself, Bachelor Nation, because Colton Underwood’s comment about his Bachelor ring does not hold back.

While fielding questions from fans on his Instagram Story on Friday, Dec. 20, the topics unsurprisingly turned to Randolph, whom Underwood memorably struck up a romance with during his season of The Bachelor. As every fan of the franchise knows, the contestants are usually gifted a diamond ring before giving out their final rose. However, viewers might remember that Underwood's season had some kinks towards the end of his journey to love, including him jumping over a fence and having to be convinced to come back on the show. Considering that the former athlete didn't get down on one knee to propose to Randolph during Season 23, Underwood said that the rules were a little bit different.

In response to a fan's query asking, "Do u still have the Neil Lane ring from the Bachelor?" Underwood revealed that he "never actually got a ring" in the first place.

However, he did confirm that he was still set on a future with his 24-year-old girlfriend, saying, "But when the time is right I’ll buy a nice ring with no strings on it." As for when that'll be, Underwood is still keeping fans guessing, saying that he'll propose, "after I buy a ring."

Underwood's Instagram Story responses aren't the first time he's alluded to some shady behind-the-scenes happenings while on the show. Back in August, the reality star detailed how he outsmarted Bachelor producers when ranking the women on the show for dates.

During an appearance on the This American Life podcast, Underwood said he began to think he needed to get creative when he realized that producers might not actually have his best interests at heart.

"Very early on, Hannah was up there. And she got left off of a date," he said, seeming to allude to the fact that Hannah G., who was originally given the first impression rose, wasn't picked for a date in Week 2 even though he'd ranked her highly.

Underwood shared his reaction, saying, "And I sort of recall remember feeling a little burnt when they did that. I was like, so let me get this straight. Hannah's number one on my list right now, and she's not getting a date this week?"

The Denver native then changed up his strategy, saying, "From there on out, I was like, all right, if you're going to do that to my top girls, I'm not really going to tell you who my top girls are. Because I don't want you messing with them. So in a weird way, I tried to defend myself and defend the girls by not being truthful to them who my top was."

Thus, when he started developing feelings for Randolph, which he described as a "slow burn," he consistently kept ranking Hannah ahead of her. "That's just me wanting to set myself up for success."

He also slammed the Bachelor franchise for not necessarily having a realistic approach to lasting relationships. "It was, in a weird way, in the dynamic of The Bachelor franchise where it's supposed to be quick and fast and intense, it was sort of a relief to find a normal relationship in which it was a slower burn, and wish it was a more realistic approach to a relationship," he added.

Producers have yet to respond to Underwood's comments, but Bachelor fans will be tuning in on Jan. 6 to see if the new leading man Peter Weber's journey to find love is just as successful — and to see if there's a big Neil Lane diamond sparkler on someone's finger at the end of it all.