As Colton got older, he stopped having sex with female partners, which led to speculation among his peers, especially his teammates, about his sexual identity.

“It was one of those things that you hear something so often that you start to believe it,” he says. “I thought maybe I was gay. The soccer team captain should have sex and drink, right? But it wasn’t me.”

The rumors were so numerous that Colton said his parents had confronted him. He remembered his mother saying, “You know, Colt, we’d still love and support you if you were gay.”

Speculation continued into Colton’s adulthood, even after dating an Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman and appeared on Becca KufrinSeason from The Bachelorette, as well as Bachelor in paradise. During this time, his virginity became a topic of discussion, but his friends and family were “proud” that he was open and honest about it.