Why Colton Underwood Isn’t Ready to Be ‘The Bachelor’ Right Now

Is Colton Underwood really ready to hand out his final rose?

Bachelor Nation has had plenty of complaints when it comes to the former football player being cast as ABC’s next Bachelor, from his complicated relationship with Tia Booth on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise to him simply not being fan favorite frontrunners Blake Horstmann or Jason Tartick.

But even putting that all those criticisms aside (justice for Wills Reid!), we have to wonder if the 26-year-old is even ready to pick a potential wife. After all, he’s been saying pretty plainly on BiP this season that he needs time to figure himself out beyond a relationship — and that was filmed just this summer!

Ignoring all the red flags before this season of BiP started, Colton’s flip-flopping on his relationship with Tia throughout his time in Paradise is a pretty big sign he doesn’t know what he wants out of a partnership. Remember when he showed up in Mexico and admitted he was still in love with Becca? And then went all in with Tia, only to dump her during Monday’s three-hour special?

We think Tia probably said it best, telling her former beau through tears, “You need to just really focus on this time and really figure yourself out so you can fully give yourself to someone.”

“I mean, it was just about two months ago that I was telling him that he really needs to figure himself out before he can fully be with someone else,” Tia continued to Entertainment Tonight prior to Tuesday’s announcement about the rumors her ex would be chosen as the next Bachelor. “If there’s a chance that Colton is the Bachelor, I would hope that he is fully ready for that experience knowing that he wants to be engaged at the end of it.”

Colton’s sketchy timeline when it comes to his date with the Bachelorette frontrunner prior to being chosen for Becca’s season of the dating series, as well as his history of dating high-profile women such as Olympian Aly Raisman are definitely cause for concern when it comes to his motives. But in the age of social media influencers and #spon being a real way to pay the bills, it’s hard to say any Bachelor Nation member is truly putting their deepest inner selves out there for everyone to watch on national TV entirely “for the right reasons.”

He does some great charitable work with the Colton Underwood Legacy foundation, loves dogs, and as he revealed on Bachelor in Paradise, never wears underwear — so maybe he is ready to find his person on reality TV.

And if not, we’ll honestly be tuning in anyways.