Colton Underwood is lounging, iPhone camera in hand.

No, this isnt one of the many awkwardly filmed vlogs from his season of The Bachelor . Underwood is in quarantine at his girlfriend Cassie Randolphs parents home in Huntington Beach, California, and were chatting with him on Zoom from our respective residences in Brooklyn and New Jersey.

Underwood has recently recovered from the novel coronavirus and has been documenting his journey in recovery on social media. He was diagnosed when young people were still partying on spring break, so Underwood ended up becoming Bachelor Nations responsible public face of COVID-19. And in the midst of this global pandemic, his memoir, aptly named The First Time, was released.

The book is full of the kind of juicy details The Bachelor franchise enthusiasts yearn for. Underwood writes candidly about being the worlds most famous virgin, his failed Paradise relationship with fellow Bach alum Tia Booth, his criticism of women from his starring season, including Hannah Brown, and the struggles he and Randolph, who he left The Bachelor with, faced after filming ended. (Spoiler alert: One thing that he keeps to himself is their sex life.)

These are likely the things that launched Underwoods memoir onto The New York Times bestseller list. But he also addresses subjects you might not expect a former NFL player even one that just played on practice squads (just ribbing ya, Colton) to get into: questioning ones sexuality, mens inability to be honest about mental health, and the intricacies that come with being a self-confessed virgin.

I feel like anytime you go on reality TV, youre giving up some sort of freedom, Underwood said. Writing the book was so therapeutic ... In a weird way, by opening up more, I felt like I got more of myself back.

HuffPost reporters and hosts of Bachelor podcast Here To Make Friends Emma Gray and Leigh Blickley got the chance to catch up with Underwood from quarantine and talk about his relationship with The Bachelor franchise, mental health, and, of course, that fence jump . (And be sure to check out a clip from the interview in our premiere episode of Here To Make Friends in Quarantine, a video series that will be dropping Wednesdays on Instagram and Facebook.)

So before we get into your new memoir, The First Time, you just recovered from the coronavirus. Can you give us a bit of an update on your health? How are you doing?

Im doing so much better. Ive made a full recovery. Ive just been working with the health professionals here down in Orange County, my doctor, and the health department. Also the whole Randolph family has been so great, nursing me back to health. I was very fortunate that all my symptoms were manageable from home. I got it so early on, and there were still people my age or younger than me partying on beaches and not taking it very seriously. So I just thought it was important to share the message that this can get you no matter what age you are.

OK, lets talk about your memoir. Why write this book? Were there specific misconceptions you felt like people had about you or your life after watching you on television?

I feel like anytime you go on reality TV, youre giving up some sort of freedom. And for me, realizing that I gave up control of my life and my story was messing with me. Writing the book was so therapeutic. And it sort of felt like I got my life back. I was sharing stories that I didnt feel comfortable giving to a TV show. So in a weird way, by opening up more, I felt like I got more of myself back.