The controversial reality star said he will “always own the mistakes that I made,” and feels “extreme sadness” to have “let a lot of people down.”

Colton Underwood shares new details of Cassie Randolph legal drama after asking Traitors not to bring it up

The controversial reality star said he will "always own the mistakes that I made," and feels "extreme sadness" to have "let a lot of people down."

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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February 26, 2026 10:57 p.m. ET

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Colton Underwood on Feb. 6 and Cassie Randolph on Jan. 29, both in Los Angeles in 2026. Credit:

Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty; Jerritt Clark/Getty

Colton Underwood is finally opening up about the turbulent period following his ascent to fame on *The Bachelor** *in 2019.

The former football pro, who recently added reality villain to his repertoire due to his spiky presence on season 4 of *The Traitors*, became embroiled in controversy shortly after he left *The Bachelor* in a relationship with contestant Cassie Randolph. A year after the finale, Underwood and Randolph split up. Months later, Randolph was granted a temporary restraining order against Underwood, which she eventually withdrew after they reached a private agreement. Then, in 2021, he came out as gay.

“Since 2020, I've put a lot of work into myself. I've worked with almost every network. I've shown up as a professional, I've shown up as a human being. I've taken accountability," Underwood told *Vanity Fair** *on Thursday in a lengthy new interview. "This perception of who I was at my lowest point in my life is not who I am when I work with these companies, when I work with these people, when I show up on television.”

Cassie Randolph and Colton Underwood on 'The Bachelor'. ABC

Still, when Underwood spoke with *** *after his elimination from *The Traitors *in January, a condition of the interview was to avoid any and all questions about Randolph.

"I didn't want to add fuel to the fire. I don’t feel like it’s appropriate that every time I work or I do something that she’s mentioned and tagged in hundreds and thousands of articles," Underwood explained to *Vanity Fair*. "It’s important now to be honest and sit here for those of you who have been asking for accountability from me. I have done it in the past... There was no strategy in that ** article, other than not wanting to add fuel to a fire."

Underwood made a similar request of NBC streamer Peacock when in negotiations to join the cast of *The Traitors. *

"I met with production. I met with Peacock. I was like, 'I'm down to do this,' because this show is about strategy. It is about the game. It is about traitors. It is not personal... My only ask is, like, if I do this, I don't want people to bring up anything outside of the game. I have a family now," Underwood told the outlet.

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Looking back at his time on and immediately following *The Bachelor*, Underwood cited the impact of COVID, "struggling with Xanax and prescription medications," and a blackmail attempt targeting his then-undisclosed sexual identity as pressures that led to "some really, really poor decisions."

"It was somewhat of the perfect storm of me hitting rock bottom, of me really trying to navigate, 'Am I gonna kill myself or am I gonna come out?'" he said.

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Despite it all, Underwood claimed that he "will always take accountability. I will always own mistakes that I made." But when it comes to Randolph, he clarified: "I have no contact. If she ever did reach out or want to reach out, I would be open to answering any questions that her or her family would have for me. That is something I've always offered... It's all on her terms."

Colton Underwood on 'The Traitors' reunion episode.

Euan Cherry/Peacock

Underwood's time on *The Traitors *proved divisive, with some viewers praising the drama he added to the explosive season, and others labeling him the cast's villain.

Regarding the history he took with him to the *Traitors *castle, Underwood told EW he did not view himself as a villain. "I have enough self-awareness and I'm in a place in my career where I understand reality personalities are polarizing," he said. While he certainly made some fans, "I also understand there's people who aren't rooting for me or aren't fans of me. And when they see me back on their television, they definitely have something to say."

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