'Now It All Makes Sense': Tayshia Adams Reacts To Ex Colton Underwood Coming Out

Tayshia Adams is showing support for Colton Underwood!

The former Bachelor came out as gay during an emotional interview on Good Morning America on Wednesday, and as far as his near-fiancée is concerned, that’s fantastic — and so is he!

Tayshia told People later that night how excited she was for her ex-boyfriend AND for the possibility of more representation in the Bachelor franchise, saying:

“I’m very happy that Colton is able to now live his life openly and without fear of being his true self. I support his willingness to share his truth, and welcome the additional LGBTQ representation to Bachelor Nation with open arms.”

As diehard viewers know, Tayshia was the runner-up on Colton’s season of The Bachelor. The 29-year-old athlete instead ended up with Cassie Randolph instead, though they split in May 2020. It was an incredibly messy breakup, thanks to Colton — Cassie had to obtain a restraining order against her ex due to allegations of intense stalking and mental abuse.

Tayshia not only dodged that bullet, she later became the Bachelorette and found love with fiancé Zac Clark. Perhaps because the 30-year-old reality star didn’t have to go through with that, her feelings toward Colton have remained positive.

On Thursday, the leading lady further reacted to the news on her podcast Click Bait with co-hosts Joe Amabile and Natasha Parker, telling them how she felt “shocked” by the interview:

“I have to say I was a little shocked at first, but all in all the happiness that I have for him, that he’s finally able to live his truth and to be out and like their sense of relief that I got from his interview is something that I have to commend immensely. And I’m just so happy that he’s able to just be him.”

While on his season, Tayshia said she got to know him in a “different way” than the other contestants — and she noticed there was something she “couldn’t get a read on” about him, though she never suspected the truth:

“There was always something that I couldn’t get a read on with him. Like I feel like he was not always himself. And now it all makes sense because I feel like when I was trying to have this serious conversations with him and when I was trying to picture a life with him down the road, there was always something that he would kind of put a wall up against because he couldn’t fully believe that — that’s not what he really wanted and now it makes sense as to why he wasn’t able to get there with me.”

She went on to discuss how she felt “bad” for Colton because he couldn’t be himself due to the “stigma” surrounding homosexuality.

“I feel like a lot of people make it very difficult for people to be their true, authentic self. And for him, I feel like he could have come to terms with this a lot earlier in life, if people weren’t so judgmental and being gay wasn’t such a negative connotation.”

ICYMI, Colton addressed the viewers who may feel he misled the contestants he courted on the ABC reality series while chatting with Robin Roberts. The former NFL player also apologized for how he handled his feelings and actions on and off the show. However, Tayshia said she felt no ill will towards Colton:

“I don’t feel like I wasted my time. I really do not. I feel like I learned so much about myself in my own journey. One reason why I feel like my time was not wasted is because he helped me transform or he helped me come to terms with a lot of things I was dealing with. When I opened up about my own problems, he was very supportive of me. He listened and made me feel better.”

She continued:

“The fact is I came to him and I brought to him my biggest skeleton in my closet and I’ve grown so much from that. And he was always very kind and supportive to me in that regard. So that’s why I feel like I didn’t waste my time.”

Following the personal conversation, several exes from Colton’s season have also rallied around him, including Demi Burnett, Nicole Lopez-Alvar, and Onyeka Ehie. Hannah Godwin, who also was a runner-up for Colton’s heart, specifically told People how she’ll always wish her former beau “the very best”:

“I support Colton for having the courage to finally be able to live his life authentically. Nobody should have to hide who they really are. I’ll always wish Colton the very best and hoping he has found his peace.”

Again, none of them ended up with him and experienced what Cassie did. We can’t imagine she’s going to be #TeamColton anytime soon. And while we love to see all the support for his coming out, we’re also glad not everyone is forgetting what he allegedly did to Cassie.

What are your thoughts on Tayshia’s reaction to Colton’s coming out? Let us know in the comments (below)!

[Image via Tayshia Adams/Instagram & Adriana M. Barraza/WENN]