Colton Underwood has more than one semi-famous relationship lurking in his past. Becca Kufrin (the Bachelorette) and Tia Booth (from Bachelor in Paradise) aside, the newest Bachelor also dated Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman. Recently, he opened up about their relationship.
"I would say [my worst heartbreak] was my first love," said Underwood on the LadyGang podcast, adding that his first love was Raisman.The hosts — Keltie Knight, Jac Vanek, and Becca Tobin — had asked Underwood about his worst breakup.
"While it was confusing and hard in the beginning, it also taught me a lot about myself — what I need, what I want, what I can do better in a relationship," Underwood added. "It was a big step for me. It was really tough."
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Underwood and Raisman dated for roughly 7 months in late 2016 and early 2017. Underwood made headlines when he asked Raisman out via a YouTube video. A friend to Shawn Johnson's husband Andrew East, Underwood decided to make a big statement in order to take of America's most decorated gymnasts on a date. The couple was public very briefly, attending the 2017 Golden Globes together and doing all of two interviews about one another. The relationship later dissipated without much fanfare, and Underwood went onto The Bachelorette.
Underwood has alluded to this relationship before, but he rarely calls out Raisman by name. On The Bachelorette, he told Becca Kufrin that the relationship was "confusing" and "painful." He had apparently told Raisman he loved her within the first few months of dating, and she did not immediately say it back.
In July of 2018, Underwood told Us Weekly that, in general, he tries to refrain from discussing the relationship out of "respect" for Raisman. "She doesn’t deserve to be in this at all," he explained. "I have so much love and respect for Aly and the voice that she is and the role model that she is for every young woman out there."
Luckily — or unluckily — Underwood will soon have 29 new ex-girlfriends to discuss in interviews. Raisman, you have been upstaged by a sloth, a Cinderella, and many, many more.