Colton Underwood is finally clearing the air about his 2020 stalking scandal, which was a recent topic of discussion during his appearance on The Traitors.
The former Bachelor star— who chose Cassie Randolph at the end of his season and ended up dating her for two years afterward— recently came under fire when his stalking of Cassie resurfaced thanks to comments made by his ‘Traitors’ co-star Lisa Rinna. During several interviews this week, Colton finally addressed the stalking situation publicly and gave more insight into that time in his life.
“I just hope that people won’t define me for the rest of my life off of my worst moment,” Colton stated during an interview with PRIDE.
When asked about his experience on the show, he said, “It was an incredible experience and my favorite show that I’ve ever done.”
He also addressed the online backlash he received.
“I obviously try to focus on the positive side of social media, but I have seen videos. I have seen comments,” he said, adding that “a lot of that lacks context and lacks just the truth.”
He elaborated that he doesn’t want what happened with him and Cassie to be a reflection of who he is today.
“The phase and where I’m at in my life as a father, as a husband, is so different than six years ago,” he said. “That was such a dark time of my life. I was dealing with threats and pressures that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy.”
View this post on Instagram
As The Ashley reported in 2020, Cassie filed for and was eventually granted a temporary restraining order against Colton for stalking, four months after their relationship ended. In court documents, Cassie accused Colton of cyber harassment and stalking, and alleged that Colton taped a tracking device to her car bumper to track her whereabouts. She also declared that Colton showed up unannounced at her apartment and her parents’ home, and sent her anonymous messages pretending to be a fellow stalker victim. (She claimed that Colton eventually admitted to placing the tracking device and sending the anonymous texts.)
Colton did not make a public statement about the situation until November 2020, when Cassie asked the court to drop the order and the police report she filed upon discovering the tracking device.
“The two of us were able to reach a private agreement to address any of Cassie’s concerns,” he explained at the time. “I do not believe Cassie did anything wrong in filing for the restraining orders and also believe she acted in good faith.”
In April 2021, Colton came out as gay in an exclusive ‘GMA’ interview, and also publicly apologized to Cassie for the first time. (She later made statements about how overwhelming Colton’s coming out was for her.) He married his partner, Jordan C. Brown, in May 2023 and welcomed a son via surrogate in 2024.
Colton returned to TV on the most recent season of ‘The Traitors,’ causing an uproar online not just because of his confrontational gameplay tactics in the castle, but also because of his past behavior. After Lisa brought up Colton’s stalking scandal on-air, Colton received a wave of backlash, so much so that Peacock had to issue a statement in January reminding fans to not cyberbully any member of the cast.
— The Traitors US (@TheTraitorsUS) January 24, 2026
In a recent interview with Variety, Lisa explained that she meant no harm by it.
“I didn’t know anything about his past,” she explained. “I will say, in my defense, he wanted a Housewife, so I gave him a Housewife moment in my sassy response to a thread message. Then it was like putting gas on a fire, and I didn’t want to do that. It’s not what I’m out to do… It makes me sad that anybody gets hate online, because I’ve been through it, and I certainly don’t want to be a part of somebody else’s hate online. So I didn’t like that.”
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Colton went deeper into the time period the restraining order was filed against him, adding that it “took a lot of personal work” to move on from that.
“I hit rock bottom,” he explained. “Since all of that happened, I have said I’m sorry for the mistakes that I’ve made in my past — the accountability that I’ve taken, I try to move forward with the understanding of the growth and who I am in this part of my life.
“When all this was first happening, I was alone and didn’t have a support system that I do now,” he elaborated. “This was a private matter that was handled by the parties privately. This happened six years ago, and there’s been a lot of life that has happened. There’s been a lot of lessons learned.”
Cassie— who got married last month— has not yet responded to Colton’s latest statements.
(Photos: ABC; Peacock; Instagram)
