Just last week, former

Bachelor

lead Colton Underwood broke the internet — for the second time this past year. For my fellow Bachelor Nation fans and for those that have never seen a single rose ceremony, let us recap the drama-filled season that was Season 23 of T

he Bachelor.

We watched 26-year-old, former professional football player Colton Underwood get in way over his head: dating 30 women at once, jumping over a fence, and almost ending the show weeks earlier than planned. If that was not indicative enough of his immaturity, Colton’s reasoning for running away was the rejection by one of the contestants, Cassie Randolph. After professing his undying love for her a day before he was supposed to have a fantasy suite date with the other women, Colton’s heart broke as Cassie did not reciprocate his feelings and decided to leave. Unfortunately for the other two women still left, Colton decided to collect himself and chase Cassie after the notorious fence jump and a slight mental breakdown. Definitely in the right mindset to make some life-altering decisions like getting engaged, right? However, Cassie did not seem too enthused about the idea of marriage but agreed to date. A wonderful start to a new relationship.

Moving forward into May of 2020, Cassie and Colton announce their breakup. Shocker! As most viewers know, many

Bachelor

couples do not last and Bachelor Nation fans were not terribly surprised. However, in November of 2020, news surfaced that Cassie had filed a restraining order against Colton because he had been stalking her after their break-up. This was the first time Colton broke the internet. Even after the split, Colton was a well-liked public figure. He started the show as a virgin and ended up writing an autobiography called

The First Time.

Yet, this restraining order news led to more controversy surrounding Colton’s character and he was no longer a Bachelor fan favorite.

Now we reach April 14, 2021. The headline on every pop culture media outlet was the same: “Colton Underwood Comes Out as Gay.” I quickly received a text from my mom (a fellow

Bachelor

fan) alerting me of the breaking news, along with many texts from my friends. Most people were not too shocked. For some people, it was the fact of his virginity and former professional football status, for some it was his odd infatuation with Cassie, and for some, it was just an inkling. But we should not assume Colton’s sexuality and we have to be careful when evaluating his behavior in the past. It continued to be a complicated situation because many people congratulated Colton and were incredibly happy he finally felt comfortable to be his true self, but many remembered his past with Cassie. And of course, everyone should support this and congratulate him; I cannot imagine how difficult it was given the spotlight he is under as well as his religious and athletic background. Yet, we cannot excuse what occurred with Cassie earlier last year and other insensitive remarks Colton said in the past. This needs to be taken into consideration when evaluating how and if to support this public figure in his future projects and events.

As for the future of

The Bachelor

, many people are pushing for a gay bachelor and I completely support this decision.

The Bachelor

franchise needs to increase its diversity and they are slowly doing so, but not without a nudge from the viewers. Although they did recently have the first black bachelor, the franchise can and should do so much more to add diversity and include voices from all societal groups. I would love to see different sexual orientations represented in ABC’s hit dating show, but I worry about the logistics if it were a normal season. Imagine a gay bachelor. Now imagine the contestants. 25+ highly attractive men living together, all vying for another incredibly attractive man. How could you assume that the contestants would not be physical or fall for each other instead of the lead? That would be a highly entertaining show, but a different premise. However, a gay

Bachelor in Paradise

? I could definitely get on board and I think ABC should jump on this immediately.

So who knows? The future of

The Bachelor

franchise is unknown and certainly on thin ice, but could have so many incredible possibilities if they allow for more diversity. And it might be up to the viewers to decide.