Colton Underwood Is Hosting A Dating Show For Virgins

Colton Underwood returns to TV to co-host Hulu’s Are You My First?, a new dating show about virgins exploring intimacy, love, and connection…

Colton Underwood is back on television — but this time, he’s not looking for love. He’s helping others try to find it, for the first time.

Are You My First?, a new Hulu reality series co-produced by the teams behind Queer Eye and Love Island, brings together a group of virgins in what the show calls a “tropical paradise” to explore intimacy, dating, and the emotional (and physical) territory that comes with being a late bloomer. The show promises “the largest, hottest group of virgins ever assembled,” which feels like a tagline written for engagement bait, but hey — it’s reality TV.

Underwood, who publicly came out as gay in 2021 after previously positioning his virginity as a selling point on The Bachelor, will co-host the series. It marks his first time in a hosting role, though it’s one of several TV projects he’s currently involved in. He’s also set to appear on the upcoming season of The Traitors, the psychological competition show that keeps extending its reality universe reach.

What is Are You My First? about?

At its core, Are You My First? is a dating show about people who haven’t had sex — and who are now trying to explore romantic connection in front of an audience. Hulu’s description calls it a “heated yet heartfelt journey,” combining romantic dates, elimination-style challenges, and a cast selected specifically for their lack of sexual experience.

The premise leans heavily on vulnerability. Contestants are expected to talk openly about their relationship to sex, intimacy, and dating pressure — which may either humanize them or, depending on how the show is edited, reduce them to punchlines.

Whether or not the show handles these conversations with care is still a question. But in a genre built on first impressions, this one is aiming squarely for them.

Colton Underwood’s return to reality TV hosting

Underwood’s involvement feels layered. During his time on The Bachelor, his virginity was a central part of the storyline — marketed, teased, and mined for ratings. Then came the public reckoning, his coming out, and a Netflix docuseries that documented his transition from closeted reality star to openly gay public figure.

Now, as a married father with his own set of firsts behind him, he’s stepping into the role of guide — someone who understands what it means to have personal milestones turned into public narrative.

While Are You My First? marks his official hosting debut, Underwood is also appearing this year on The Traitors, a very different kind of reality competition that trades on manipulation, social strategy, and quiet betrayal. Between the two shows, it’s clear he’s carving out a second life in the genre — not as the contestant, but as the person holding the mic.

How Are You My First? fits into Hulu’s dating show strategy

Hulu has been testing the waters with dating formats that skew offbeat, emotionally charged, or hyper-specific. Gabby Windey, another Bachelor alum, is also set to host a new Hulu series — a yacht-based dating show that’s part Below Deck, part FBoy Island. The strategy seems clear: take familiar faces from reality TV and hand them the keys to newer, weirder formats.

With Are You My First?, Hulu is banking on a mix of relatability and novelty. Virginity has long been a media talking point, but rarely has it been framed as a shared, exploratory experience among adults — especially in a format that’s more introspective than competitive.

The question is whether the show can treat that premise with care, or whether the reality TV machine will flatten it into something purely for consumption.

Is this the next evolution of dating reality TV?

Virginity is a loaded topic — culturally, emotionally, and personally. Turning it into a group experiment for television could easily veer into spectacle. But if Are You My First? manages to keep its focus on agency, honesty, and complexity, it might offer something new in a genre that’s grown increasingly self-aware.

Colton Underwood may not be the star of the show this time, but his presence — shaped by a very public relationship with the concept of “firsts” — adds a strange kind of symmetry.

If nothing else, the show reflects where reality dating TV is headed: more niche, more personal, and occasionally, more honest than expected.