This 'Bachelorette' Favorite Used To Date Aly Raisman

Sometimes when you have a couple dozen men vying for the heart of one woman on The Bachelorette, you’re bound to have a couple of would-be celebrities mixed in there. Usually that means professional athletes, and in contestant Colton Underwood’s case that’s true, but he’s also famous for dating another athlete. That’s right — Colton from The Bachelorette used to date Olympic gymnast, Aly Raisman. In fact, the two were dating as recently as June 2017. Okay, so that’s actually a year ago now, but at the time of filming of The Bachelorette Season 14, it wasn't quite a year since the breakup, which is probably why Colton was quick to bring up his recent split. So at the very least, he was able to get it out there before anyone else accused him of being on the show for less than innocent reasons.

According to Cosmopolitan, Colton and Raisman were introduced by mutual friends on a double date and went on several public dates together for the duration of their relationship, which seemed pretty serious at the time. But, as Colton told The Lincoln Journal Star in June 2017, they had decided to call it quits because of their busy schedules and the long distance.

"We’re taking a break right now," he revealed at the time, which happened to be roughly six months after they went public with their relationship. "We’re still good friends and talk, but all that travel had been a nightmare." The professional NFL player also added that the relationship "ended fine," so it definitely seems like there are no hard feelings either way. But even so, you can’t help but wonder what this means for Colton going on The Bachelorette and essentially seeking out yet another public romance.

The Bachelorette and The Bachelor are famous for including some fame hungry contestants, aka those who are out to gain Instagram followers and possibly make their mark for 15 minutes of fame past their appearance on the show. But luckily, despite Colton’s past public relationship, he seems totally genuine at the moment. Raisman even once told People magazine that, "he’s just a very thoughtful person," so if his ex can still give him a stamp of approval, I’d say that’s a good sign.

When The Bachelorette Season 14 premiered Monday night, plenty of fans took to Twitter to try and figure out who Colton was, as he looked vaguely familiar to them. As it turned out, he was the same guy who appeared at the 2017 Golden Globes with Raisman by his side, looking every bit as charming and sweet as he did during The Bachelorette premiere.

Although Colton and Raisman broke up just months after stepping out in public as a couple, it seems like their split wasn’t born out of anger or infidelity, but circumstance. By all accounts, it looks like Colton is ready to put his next relationship before everything else, especially if it happens to be with Becca.

"I sacrificed a lot of things, including relationships, for football," he said during his video package on The Bachelorette premiere. "I don't know much about Becca, but I think that's probably the best way to go into this. I want to get to know her and I'm ready to put myself out there and find love and have somebody to share my life with, share my experiences with."

If you're one to judge a guy by his exes, then I’d say that any man who dated someone like Raisman, an Olympic silver medalist who worked with Colton on his charity, the Colton Underwood Legacy Foundation while they were dating, then he’s probably as good of a catch for Becca as anybody.