Colton Underwood Admits to Bringing His Baby Blanket on 'Beyond the Edge' : 'DeeDee Saved the Day'

Photo: Robert Voets/CBS

Colton Underwoodhas the comfort of home on his side!

Underwood opens up to PEOPLE exclusively about his decision to participate on the survival show (taking place in the dangerous jungles of Panama), while revealing the secret weapon that helped him through his experience.

While he, along with the eight other celebrities he was competing against, were stripped of basic necessities like food and shelter — they were allowed to bring “a personal item or two,” Underwood tells PEOPLE.

Robert Voets/CBS

Although Underwood was lucky to have his childhood support system at hand, it didn’t fully cover the uncomfortable sleeping conditions he had to endure in the wilderness — especially as someone who says, “I need white noise, I need the air conditioning maxed out, and I need the right pillow to get a good night’s sleep.” He adds, “I didn’t have any of that. I also didn’t have my NyQuil.”

Though openly admitting that the sleeping conditions were the hardest, he jokes that the eating situation was not far behind. “I actually put 10 pounds on before I even filmed the show just because I knew my body wasn’t going to get the fuel that it needed,” shares Underwood.

As a former professional football player, Underwood says the physical aspects of the competition were nothing that he’s ever faced before as an athlete.

“I’ve never been put in a position where you told me I had to sleep outside for 10, 12 days in a row, grit it all, and not have the luxuries of life that I’ve worked really hard to earn in my life,” he says. “Once those all went away, I was like, ‘Oh boy, this just got real.'”

A born competitor, participating onBeyond the Edgewas “was no brainer” for Underwood — but in addition to the physical nature of the competition, he learned a lot about himself and his competitors (Jodie Sweetin,Eboni K. Williams, andLauren Alainato name a few) along the way.

“It really put a lot of things in perspective for me that we all have our individual traumas. We all have our individual insecurities, things we’re working on and mistakes of our past,” says Underwood. “When you really put those aside and come together, it’s a super powerful thing.”

This came easy for Underwood who credits the “amazing communication” he has with hisfiancé Jordan C. Brownin helping him in the jungle where he says you have to “say what’s on your heart and work past it because it happens so quickly.”

For every grueling adventure challenge won, money will be raised for each celebrities’ charity of choice. “The charity that I’m representing on the show is theColton Underwood Legacy Foundationthat I founded six years ago for the fight against cystic fibrosis,” says Underwood. “I am so honored and so excited to be raising money for cystic fibrosis.”

He adds, “Also, hopefully with the proceeds from this show, we’re going to be starting a new chapter in Legacy for mental health. I’m really excited about the potential, and hopefully we can raise a lot of money on this show to be able to start having an impact on mental health as well.”

Beyond the Edgepremieres Wednesday, March 16 at 9:00 p.m. ET on CBS. It’s also available to stream live and on demand on the CBS app and Paramount+.

source: people.com