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Rachel Lindsay is opening up about dating and how race often defines the direction many might take when deciding where to look for love.
The “Bachelorette” alum, 35, delved into the deep topic on Thursday’s episode of the YouTube series “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man” and expounded on a point she made that because of societal stigmas pertaining to dating, she used to be “so against” interracial dating.
“I’ve always been told that I wasn’t Black enough and I’m not even [biracial],” Lindsay said (via Us Weekly). “I’m a Black woman and I’ve always been told that I wasn’t Black enough because of the way that I grew up, the experiences that I had. So I, you know, to be 100 percent honest it was something that I fought before I came on to “The Bachelor.”
FORMER 'BACHELORETTE' RACHEL LINDSAY SAYS SHE'LL QUIT FRANCHISE UNLESS DIVERSITY PROBLEMS ARE SOLVED
Rachel Lindsay, a fan favorite on the 21st season of ABC’s hit romance reality series 'The Bachelor,' starring Nick Viall, returned the lead season 13 of 'The Bachelorette.' (ABC/Mitch Haaseth)
Lindsay – the series’ first-ever Black lead in the entire “Bachelor” franchise of programs – said in her 20s, she refrained from straying outside of her race.
“Up until I was 30 I really didn’t date seriously outside of my race because I felt like society – not my parents, not my friends – society was telling me I had to pick a Black man,” Lindsay explained.
'BACHELORETTE' STAR RACHEL LINDSAY SAYS SHE'S 'NOT REALLY HOPEFUL' FOR FRANCHISE'S FUTURE
The Texas native said she simply did not want the man she chose to marry to be “judged” by those who felt she should have chosen a Black man.
“I feel like they expect me to pick someone who looks just like me, but that’s not fair. They should just want me to fall in love with whoever it is that I vibe with,” lamented Lindsay – who ultimately elected to hand her final rose to Bryan Abasolo, who is of Colombian descent.
Rachel Lindsay got engaged to Bryan Abasolo on the finale of 'The Bachelorette.' The pair are pictured here on 'Good Morning America, on Tuesday, August 8, 2017. (Heidi Gutman/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
The couple got engaged on the show and married in August 2019.
The former attorney starred on season 13 of “The Bachelorette” – a season mired by its own controversy when just two weeks into the show’s airing, racial tweets allegedly sent from contestant Lee Garrett’s Twitter account were leaked on social media, including one that reads “What’s the difference between the NAACP and the KKK? Wait for it…One has the sense of shame to cover their racist a-- faces," according to People magazine.
The tweets were posted in 2015 and 2016, and in another leaked post, Garrett allegedly penned: "Thousands sign petition to recognize #BlackLivesMatter as a terrorist group after Dallas," and in an additional tweet, Garrett allegedly asks, “When is the last time you actually saw a pretty feminist? There is a reason for this.”
Lindsay told Entertainment Tonight in June that she was floored with the support she received from Abasolo when she wanted to speak out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Communication has always been the foundation of our relationship and we always have those tough conversations, so watching Bryan protest and scream ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and really get emotional in the whole experience … of course I look over and am like, ‘Gosh, I made the right decision, because he understands me and I understand him,'” Lindsay said.
DEMARIO JACKSON WARNS NEW 'BACHELOR' LEAD MATT JAMES ABOUT 'SCRUTINY' HE COULD FACE AS A BLACK MAN
She added that the reaction the couple has felt from detractors of their relationship has aided in helping them develop a “thick skin” and “figure out how to navigate this world as an interracial couple. We did that from the very beginning," Lindsay said.
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