Colton Underwood is ''happily single''.

The former 'Bachelor' star reportedly enjoyed a number of ''casual hike dates'' with actress Lucy Hale, 31, recently, following his split Cassie Randolph, 25, in May, but he's admitted his ''next relationship'' he's ''already in'' - and that's with himself.

Speaking on the Chat4Good panel this week, he said: ''I would consider myself single right now. I'm happily single.

''My next relationship I'm already in and that's with myself. I've decided that I want to spend my energy and focus on all my attention on myself, which I'm actually weirdly loving.''

Colton went on to explain that he wants his next partner to ''fit seamlessly'' into his life without ''too much compromise''.

He explained: ''I don't want to say my exes weren't this, but I just want somebody who complements and fits into my life seamlessly.

''I think that's something that I'm going to be looking for, and I don't want to feel like it has to be forced or set up or feel like we have to compromise too much.

''I think, while compromising is very important in a relationship, it's something that you can only take so much of.''

Last month, TMZ reported that Lucy contacted Colton, 28, after hearing that he and Cassie had ended their relationship and the pair were spotted enjoying a hike on the Paseo Miramar Trail in Pacific Palisades.

Lucy previously admitted to being a big fan of Colton and revealed she was excited when he was cast as the Bachelor in 2018.

She said at the time: ''I'm super excited that Colton's the Bachelor. He's wholesome. He's a good guy it seems like. He's really beautiful to watch.''

Announcing his split from Cassie, Colton said on social media: ''It's been a crazy few months, to say the least, Cass and I have been doing a lot of self-reflecting. Sometimes people are just meant to be friends - and that's okay.

''We both have grown immensely and been through so much together - so this isn't the end of our story, it's the start of a whole new chapter for us.''