The Untold Truth Of Colton Underwood And Tia Booth

Viewers learned a lot about Colton Underwood during his (relatively tough, bully-attracting) time on The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise. But the reality TV star decided to give fans even more info about his life in his new book, The First Time: Finding Myself and Looking for Love on Reality TV. Among other personal details that will surely thrill readers — like insight into his situation with Cassie Randolph (which included a breakup!) — Colton revealed the truth behind his past relationship with fellow Bachelor Nation member, Tia Booth.

It turns out that Colton was interested in Tia before the two even met, according to Us Weekly. While he was going through the casting process for The Bachelorette, he was asked to look at the women who were competing on The Bachelor at the time and pick three that he liked. He chose Becca Kufrin (who went on to become the Bachelorette), Lauren Burnham (who ended up with former Bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr.), and Tia.

Colton also followed each of the women on Instagram, which is where Tia first reached out to him when she replied to a story he had posted about Stranger Things. "We exchanged numbers and texted fast and furiously throughout the day and night. It didn't seem like either of us slept. Two days later, I FaceTimed with her," he wrote in his book. "I couldn't believe that we were doing this. It seemed crazy." And things were only getting started.

Before Becca Kufrin earned her turn as the Bachelorette during Season 14 of the franchise, Tia Booth was also in the running for the role. When Colton Underwood found out that he'd been cast for that particular season, he arranged to meet with Tia in person. He admits in his book, The First Time: Finding Myself and Looking for Love on Reality TV, "Was I trying to scheme a little? Yes."

"If Tia was going to be the Bachelorette, I wanted a head start on all the other guys," he wrote (via Us Weekly). "I knew the importance of preparing for a big game, and all I was really doing was preparing."

Colton goes on to explain that he "wanted to get to know Tia in person," while at the same time giving her a chance to get to know him better as well. He figured, "Maybe we'd even really like each other. I think Tia had similar thoughts."

They certainly did like each other, which is why they went on to date during Bachelor in Paradise. However, fans will recall they had a bumpy ride on the spinoff series and broke up in time for him to nab the main gig as the Bachelor on Season 23. Relationships and romance are wild roller coasters, amirite?

Following Tia Booth's turn as a contestant on The Bachelor and Colton Underwood's time trying to woo Becca Kufrin on The Bachelorette, the two met up again on the fifth season of Bachelor in Paradise. Many fans thought that perhaps the two would finally get together while on the beach, and indeed, they did enjoy plenty of time together — sharing a mountain of hot dogs during an, er, romantic moment and enjoying a boat ride out on the water. However, the reunion was anything but smooth sailing for the pair, despite their best efforts.

Both Tia and Colton had hesitations about their future due to their past, and although they tried to work things out, Tia ultimately gave Colton an ultimatum — basically telling him "pick me or leave" — and he ended up breaking up with her before ditching paradise.

Although Tia and Colton didn't end up as a happily-ever-after BiP success story, they've both moved on to other relationships (and breakups).

When Colton Underwood left Bachelor in Paradise, his single status set him up as an ideal choice for the next Bachelor. That was how he met his current love, Cassie Randolph. However, their road to romance wasn't any less complicated than Underwood's relationship with Tia Booth. 

While Cassie likely would have been Colton's final choice during his season of the reality show (something he tried to assure her of at the time), she was the one who decided to leave before the cameras stopped rolling. Although the two managed to find their way back to each other as the season ended, they did break up briefly after the final taping before eventually making up again. For the time being, they're still going strong.

As for Tia, she let her social media followers in on the fact that she had a new man in her life in November 2018 by posting an Instagram photo of herself and her boyfriend at a Tennessee Titans game with the simple caption, "Nashville weekends." People magazine revealed her new fella was Cory Cooper, an executive vice president at Cooper Steel, which is his family's company. 

However, this was another relationship that wasn't meant to last and in October 2019, Tia announced that the two had split. Currently, she's single, but still has someone special in her life: her cute pup who goes by the name Marlo.