Colton Underwood couldn't be more appreciative of his girlfriend, Cassie Randolph, and her family after his coronavirus diagnosis.
The former Bachelor revealed on Friday that he had tested positive for coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. While joining Chris Harrison and Lauren Zima on Saturday's "Group Date," a nightly Instagram live they're hosting while self-isolating, Underwood opened up about having the Randolph family's support -- and detailed his coronavirus symptoms and recovery.
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"It was headache, body ache, terrible night sweats," Underwood began, describing his first symptoms. "Shortness of breath is the most crippling one, and for me at least, that’s the most challenging one. For me, the fever was gone within two days, but I've been taking Tylenol and staying on that. … And after I got the test, they prescribed two drugs the FDA has been talking about."
Underwood said that he thought he would test negative for COVID-19, after seeing fellow Bachelor alum, Kaitlyn Bristowe, be diagnosed with the flu following her coronavirus test. "Who knows how I got it, where I got it, when I got it?" he said.
Since his diagnosis, Underwood, 28, has been recovering on the third story of the Randolph home in Huntington Beach, California -- isolated from Cassie and the rest of the family.
"They’ve been amazing," he raved of the Randolph family, adding that Cassie delivers him food, water and medicine as he requires it. "We did a stretching session from opposite ends of a balcony. I'm trying my hardest to recover."
"If I wouldn’t be here with the Randolphs, Cassie and her family, I wouldn't be good. Even here at times it gets challenging and thus feels sort of lonely. They've been amazing and supporting, we're all in this together. Not just us as a family, us a nation and as a world," Underwood continued. "My family back in Denver and Illinois both really appreciate [the Randolphs], they’ve been great."
The former football player stressed, "We need to stick together through this, and try not to make people feel guilty or bad that they have this."
"I'm lucky enough to have it under control for the most part," he shared. "For me, the most frustrating part is that there's been so much information that it's almost overwhelming for people to figure out how to combat this thing, and it can affect people differently."
As for why he decided to come forward with his diagnosis on Instagram, Underwood said it felt like the best way to reach "people that I'd been in contact with other the last two weeks."
"I tried to think of and text as many people as possible, but I was sort of overwhelmed in, 'How do I get this message out?'" he explained. "I thought it was also important for young people. The message I'd been seeing in the news was young people can get it but it will not affect you, and that's not necessarily true."
Amid his recovery, Underwood is trying to stay positive. "I enjoy working, working out and being busy and I think it’s important for me to be still… I try to look at things with a glass half full approach," he said.
"Cass and I were talking about how it’s like a hometown happy couple weekend," he joked. "It's the best of both worlds!"
Harrison and Zima are making daily donations to charities aiding those affected by coronavirus. All proceeds from messages booked from them on Cameo and ChrisHarrisonOfficial.com are being donated.
For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO website.
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