Colton Underwood appears to have ventured into the dating waters after coming out as gay ... and the water is fine.
The former 'Bachelor' has been in Hawaii at the Four Seasons in Maui with a mystery man -- enjoying the beach and packing on the PDA -- and TMZ's solved the mystery ... Colton's new beau is Jordan C. Brown.
Jordan is very involved in politics, having worked on John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004 and also advising on Barack Obama's campaigns in both 2008 and 2012 ... helping fundraise. He also worked on Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign.
It's unclear how long the 2 have been hanging out, but we know they were both part of a group including Colton's pal, Olympian Gus Kenworthy, that took a trip to Provincetown, MA back in June ... though they weren't photographed together.
The photos tell the story. Colton looks relaxed and happy, so it seems he's finding his way.
As you know ... Colton came out in April, but claimed at the time dating was not even on his radar. Five months later ... it looks like things have changed.