Lucy Hale Breaks Silence On Rumored Ex Colton Underwood's Coming Out News

Actress Lucy Hale has released a message of support for her rumored ex Colton Underwood one day after he came out as gay in a pre-taped interview with Good Morning America that aired on April 14, 2021.

"I'm really happy for you @ColtonUnderwood," she wrote on her Instagram Story (pictured below). "U deserve to be seen, heard, and accepted for exactly who you are. Brave, bold moves and I'm HERE FOR IT," she continued.

Underwood's confession follows his months-long hiatus from social media that began in late 2020 after a tumultuous breakup from girlfriend of nearly two years Cassie Randolph, who he chose during the 23rd season of The Bachelor. The breakup turned messy after Cassie accused Colton of stalking and harassing her, and subsequently filed a restraining order against him. However, she dropped the restraining order two months later, per People.

According to a source for Us Weekly, Cassie was shocked by the announcement and "hasn't really had time to navigate how she feels about it yet."  Cassie seemed to be on vacation at the time of the announcement, as the day of and following Colton's confession, the reality star was posting shots of a vacation in Cozumel on her Instagram Story.

Although Cassie has not yet publicly reacted to the news, many Bachelor Nation alumni have. Here is what they had to say.

Colton Underwood's Bachelor Nation friends were thrilled to hear he was living his most authentic life, and quickly took to social media to express their excitement for him. "Welcome to the community brother," Demi Burnett — who was part of the first same-sex proposal in the franchise — tweeted with rainbow and sparkle emojis. Chris Randone, who had a whirlwind marriage to Krystal Nielson after they got engaged on Bachelor in Paradise, was ecstatic for his friend. "Got nothing but love and support for my guy @colton," he wrote. "Everyone has a past but as someone who has a gay sibling, the internal battle is like no other and couldn't imagine it in the public eye. Hopefully you can live you life freely now and continue to grow that relationship w God." Bachelor host Chris Harrison even broke his social media silence to congratulate the former Bachelor. "Happy to see you stand up and openly live your truth. You have my love and support my friend," he captioned a photo with Colton on his Instagram.  

Colton certainly saw some of these well wishes, as April 15, 2021 marked his first day back on social media since 2020. In his first Instagram post back, he shared some polaroids of himself and wrote, "I have a lot to learn, but i have come a long way. to the people in my corner, i love you. without you i wouldn't be here."