Exclusive Interview
Inside the Virgin Dating Show ‘Are You My First?’ With Colton Underwood & Kaitlyn Bristowe (VIDEO)
It’s no secret that Colton Underwood and Kaitlyn Bristowe met through their time as leads on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, respectively. Now that they’re stepping out of Bachelor Nation and into their new role as the cohosts of Are You My First?, the duo sat down with Swooon to tease ABC’s new virgin reality dating show.
Are You My First?, which premieres on August 18 at 10/9c (following Bachelor in Paradise), is best described as a “groundbreaking new dating experiment” featuring “the largest, hottest group of virgins ever assembled.” With Colton and Kaitlyn in the driver’s seat, these virgins travel to a tropical paradise where they are free to explore their connections without the added pressure of societal norms.
“We’re always in the same bubble and orbit, coming out of [The Bachelor] franchise,” Colton revealed to Swooon when asked how he first met Kaitlyn. “We’ve always sort of been friends… It’s been an honor to work with each other.”
Disney / Jeff Daly
Kaitlyn, who made her Bachelor Nation debut before Colton, recalled, “I remember I was on Episode 1 of Becca [Kufrin’s] season, giving advice, sitting on the couch, talking about what to expect.” According to the season 11 The Bachelorette alum, “[Former Bachelorette leads] have this traveling diary book that we give other Bachelorettes [for] advice.” Even then, Kaitlyn remembers seeing Colton and thinking, “This guy’s so hot! I hope he’s the next Bachelor!”
“Kaitlyn’s energy is one of one,” the Season 23 Bachelor gushed. “I love a straight shooter, and Kaitlyn has this perfect blend of masculine and feminine energy that’s like… She’s a badass chick.”
When it comes to their new gig hosting Are You My First?, Colton recalled asking to join the show the second he heard about it. “This show only works if you have a man and a woman because you need both perspectives,” Colton theorized. “It was just a natural, authentic thing for both of us.”
“We also have a relationship with the showrunner, who used to be with The Bachelor franchise, and the three of us loved working together,” Kaitlyn noted. “Our first meeting, on Zoom I think it was, we were like, ‘Yes, this is happening.'”
Colton, who is best known for entering his season of The Bachelor as “the virgin Bachelor,” exclaimed that he was “pumped” to hear that there was “finally” a show that featured only single daters who had yet to lose their virginity. “It was one of those full-circle moments for me,” he confessed. On the other hand, when it comes to a virgins-only dating show, Kaitlyn joked, “I think you’ve got the wrong gal.”
“Both of us have been in the position of being contestants on a show,” Kaitlyn told Swooon. “So, to step into a hosting role, we were able to relate to them as well, which really broke down some barriers and bonded us.”
Now that ABC has started casting fan-favorite Bachelor Nation stars in hosting roles, Colton and Kaitlyn revealed a couple more franchise stars who would make fantastic reality TV hosts. “Wells [Adams], obviously,” Kaitlyn started, proudly supporting the Bachelor in Paradise bartender. Colton also threw out former Bachelor leads Ben Higgins and Nick Viall as people who “have that natural hosting factor.”
Beyond their own Bachelor Nation ties, Are You My First? has a strong connection to The Bachelorette within the cast. The official cast announcement revealed that Mike Planeta from Katie Thurston‘s season would return to the network to vie for love in their new dating format.
As the host of Katie’s season, Kaitlyn recalled, “He’s such a charming, sweet—I always call him an Angel Pie. Like, he’s just such a sweetie.” However, Kaitlyn was surprised to see him return to the franchise in such a bold way. “For him personally, I know it was such a big deal for him to have that conversation of being a virgin on his season. He’s talked about that before; that’s not just coming from me.” Even so, the former Bachelorette host shared that Mike really shined in an environment where everyone had that commonality. “It was fun to see him get his confidence from being a virgin,” Kaitlyn remarked.
And Mike is not alone! “Since the announcement of this show, so many virgins have slid into Kaitlyn and my DMs saying like, ‘If there’s a Season 2, consider me or my friend!'” Colton revealed to Swooon. “There’s plenty of people out there who are really sort of loving this and loving what this show has to offer.”
Will you be tuning into Are You My First? Comment below!
Are You My First?, Season 1, August 18, Hulu
