On the same page. Rachel Lindsay and her husband, Bryan Abasalo, have been forced to make race a topic of conversation in their relationship as an interracial couple.
“People were not receptive to our relationship at the end of [The Bachelorette],” Lindsay, 35, told Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday, June 9. “So, we’ve always had to develop a thick skin and figure out how to navigate this world as an interracial couple. We did that from the very beginning.”
She added, “What the world is going through right now, we’ve had the tough discussions about presenting ourselves as an interracial couple before, and how we want to raise our children. Bryan has always gotten it.”
The Texas native has been the only black lead on The Bachelor franchise since its debut in 2002. Lindsay met Abasolo, 40 — who is Colombian — on season 13 of The Bachelorette in 2017. Two years later, the couple tied the knot in August 2019.
Lindsay and the Florida native have recently taken their conversations about race to the front lines of the Black Lives Matter movement. The pair have been protesting against police brutality and racial inequality in the wake of George Floyd’s death while in police custody in May.
The ABC personality told Entertainment Tonight that once she explained to Abasolo that it was important to her for them to protest as a couple, her husband was instantly on board.
“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 recalled.
The reality star has also been vocal about racial inequality in The Bachelor franchise. Lindsay called out the show for its “deep-rooted, 18-year systemic problems” on Monday, June 8, in a blog post, where she detailed the steps the network could take toward change.
“1. Cast leads that are truly interested in dating outside of their race. 2. Stop making excuses for the lack of diversity and take action to rectify the problem. 3. Diversify the producers on the show to make your contestants of color feel more comfortable. 4. Stop creating problematic storylines for people of color,” she wrote.
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Additionally, the former attorney was one of the first people in Bachelor Nation to speak out against her fellow Bachelorette Hannah Brown saying the N-word on Instagram Live in May. The former beauty pageant queen, 25, later apologized in a statement.
“I owe you all a major apology. There is no excuse and I will not justify what I said,” Brown wrote at the time. “I have read your messages and seen the hurt I have caused. I own it all. I am terribly sorry and know that whether in public or private, this language is unacceptable. I promise to do better.”
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