Colton Underwood is urging his followers to be kind after receiving “mean” comments on his recent Instagram post.
In an Instagram Reel on Wednesday, May 29, ex Bachelor star, 38, addressed some of the backlash he received after announcing that he and husband Jordan C. Brown, 38, are expecting their first baby boy via surrogate.
As dozens of “mean comments” flashed across the screen, Underwood said, “Even though most of them were supportive and we felt in love, I want to address some of them.”
He went on to share his rationale for addressing hate directly.
“I know there are a lot of people who still come to my site after watching a Netflix show just to check in and see what my life is like, and a lot of those individuals still stay locked up,” he explained. “And the fact that they read those comments only reinforces the view that it’s still not okay to be completely yourself.”
He then talked about his own hidden experience as someone who always wanted to be a dad.
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“A big reason why I stayed in the closet was because I wanted to be a dad and I didn’t see representation in the gay community, and I didn’t try hard enough for it,” he said, adding, “But now that I’m out, it’s something that I want to be proud.”
“I just want to educate and be slow with these people. I want to be patient,” he continued. it’s very intentional.”
“We’re going through this because we both want to be fathers. We both want to be parents. And we both want to love our child so much, give him the best life and bring a good human being into this world.”
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“So that’s why I’m going to continue to shed light on this,” he added.
He ended the reel by urging, “I just encourage everyone to lead with kindness, to be kind, to be patient and to be understanding.”
Earlier this month, Underwood told PEOPLE, “It was one of the things we bonded over early on in our relationship. We both wanted to be fathers,” he said. “But it’s been such an amazing experience for us to go through this together, and I can’t wait to watch Jordan become a dad.”
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Source: HIS Education