‘Bachelor’ Colton Underwood Addresses Rumors That He’s Not Actually a Virgin

As the latest season of The Bachelor moves forward, so does interest in whether Colton Underwood really loses his virginity on his journey to finding love.

The former Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise contestant first brought up the subject of his virginity during Becca Kufrin’s season of the Bachelorette in 2018, though there are some fans who think he might not be telling the truth.

“See, I don’t get that,” he said during an appearance on Monday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, as PEOPLE first reported. “Why would I go on national television and say that?”

While discussions of the former football player’s sex life have been the cornerstone of his season of the dating show, he was still mindful of his privacy when it came to the fantasy suite.

Underwood discussed the subject during the appearance, where he explained how he approached the experience, in which the Bachelor or Bachelorette decides whether to invite each of their final three suitors to spend one night with them in a private room and without a camera crew.

“I will say the fantasy suite was the most pivotal week of my journey,” Underwood said.

He revealed during the interview how it works when the couple decides to go into the suite.

“You’re mic’ed up until you open up the door,” he revealed. “And right when you get on the other side of the door, they de-mic you.”

“They take it off, or they tell you they’re not listening?” host Jimmy Kimmel asked.

“They take it off, but I checked the rooms,” Underwood said. “Of course! Do you know what they have at stake?!”

Aside from the allure of the fantasy suite, Underwood added he looked forward to that time away from the cameras.

“It’s the first time you get to spend with somebody off-camera and you can really get to know them and ask the weird questions you might not otherwise,” he said. “I treat it like another date, an opportunity to get to know someone on an intimate level.”

Underwood has said in the past how he never pushed for the subject of his virginity to become the focal point of his season.

“I had no plans to share that I was a virgin,” he previously told PEOPLE. “It was something in the moment with Becca. It was important for her to know. I didn’t think it was going to be a big deal but obviously, a lot of people latched onto that.”

He said that despite feeling grateful for the support and reactions from fans, he added that being a virgin is only a “small part of who I am.”

“It’s a decision I consciously made, but it’s just something that makes me into who I am,” he said. “There is a stigma around athletes and I think the more that us as humans can do to break those, the better.”

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.