It would seem Colton Underwood’s current quest for love has The Bachelor star feeling sentimental. Chatting with the LadyGang podcast on Tuesday, he didn’t just talk about the romantic hopefuls vying for his heart on ABC’s dating show — Underwood also opened up about Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman, the woman who first opened his heart to love.
When Underwood was introduced to Bachelor Nation on Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette, there were really only two pieces of intel fans knew about him: He was a former football player, and he had once dated Raisman.
Details about that relationship were largely unknown until now. Speaking with LadyGang hosts Keltie Knight, Jac Vanek and Becca Tobin, Underwood revealed that Raisman was, in fact, his first love.
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“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. It was a big step for me. It was really tough,” he told the hosts of his relationship with Raisman.
According to E! News, the ex-couple’s meet-cute was pretty darn cute indeed.
The year was 2016, and Underwood happened to be on the same team (the Oakland Raiders) as Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson’s husband, Andrew East. With a little encouragement, he decided to record a video congratulating Raisman on her performance at the Rio Olympics. In the video, Underwood coyly suggested that, if Raisman ever made it to his neck of the woods, perhaps they could “go on a double date.”
It didn’t take long for Raisman to see Underwood’s video message and raise him some Twitter banter. “@Colt3FIVE thanks for the sweet video… looking forward to meeting you :)” she wrote. And she clearly wasn’t kidding. The couple made their official red carpet debut later that year.
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Since Underwood is now making headlines as ABC’s resident rose-giver on The Bachelor, things obviously didn’t pan out for Underwood and Raisman. He even admitted to LadyGang that the split was his “worst heartbreak.”
As for what Raisman — who once referred to Underwood as “very thoughtful” — thinks of her ex appearing on The Bachelor, she’s remained mum about the entire situation. However, her fellow U.S. gymnastics team member Laurie Hernandez weighed in briefly when asked by OK! about Underwood and Raisman in July 2018.
Spoiler alert? They “don’t talk about that” said Hernandez, who added the caveat, “It’s girl code; we’re all Team Aly.”
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