As Colton Underwood is unmasked as a reality show contestant on ‘The Masked Singer Season 11,’ he understands why his unveiling is significant. Not only is he a former ‘The Bachelor’ star, but being also recognized for his stellar performance on ‘The Masked Singer,’ and it's massive. The ex-pro football player who made history in The Bachelor to come out as gay, and one of two celebrity contestants on last night’s episode were two ex-NFL players, DeMarcus Ware, the Koala, a fellow Hall of Fame member and former NFL linebacker.

Colton Underwood's journey from The Bachelor to The Masked Singer

Underwood, who donned the ‘Love Bird’ costume, spoke candidly to Variety about the experience: “You’re obviously protected by a mask, which was symbolic for me in many ways just because I’d worn one my entire life until I wasn’t.”

“To put one back on to go on stage and do something that I’ve never done, something I never thought I was going to do, was sort of symbolic and so fun.”

Underwood’s recent stint on reality TV was the first since his appearance on The Bachelor and the Netflix documentary ‘Coming Out Colton’

“I really sort of needed to step away from being back on everybody’s televisions and I needed to work on my coming out experience and my personal life, my relationship,” he confessed.

Married in 2021, Underwood felt that this season of The Masked Singer was the right moment for his comeback: “I’m in a great place in my life. I’m really happy and the challenge was something I needed.”

DeMarcus cherished son's stuffed Koala

DeMarcus Ware, who was behind the ‘Koala’ mask, travelled a different road. While he was performing the national anthem, he caught to producers' eye, and they asked him to be on the show.

The former NFL linebacker reminisced, “I sing in the car, the shower, you name it. It’s a huge passion of mine. I was on the singing group in junior high. When we won the Super Bowl, there was a lot of singing.”

The choice of the Koala costume held special significance for Ware, as it connected to his two-year-old son’s cherished stuffed koala toy. “This is one of the biggest reasons I really did it,” he revealed.

Guessing game for the identities of the masked celebrities

Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg accurately identified Underwood as the Love Bird, while guesses for Ware’s Koala ranged from Terry Crews to Deon Sanders, none hitting the mark.

The unmasking of Ware and Underwood adds them to the list of this season’s revealed celebrities, including Sisqó, Billy Bush, Joe Bastianich, Savannah Chrisley, and Kevin Hart, each bringing their unique stories and talents to the stage of The Masked Singer.

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