Former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay found herself in the middle of a heated conversation with Chris Harrison during an infamous interview, where Harrison came under fire for his tone-deaf defense of Rachael Kirkconnell.
Lindsay and Harrison’s interview went viral, and shortly after, Chris Harrison shocked the world by announcing his departure from The Bachelor franchise after nearly 20 years of hosting.
Now, Rachel Lindsay is speaking out about the harassment and serious toll the Harrison ordeal has taken on her.
Rachel Lindsay has PTSD from the interview and the aftermath
Rachel Lindsay spoke with The Alcalde and vulnerably revealed her challenging experience after her interview with Chris Harrison.
During the interview with Harrison, Rachel had to make it clear that antebellum parties are inappropriate and offensive no matter what, despite the former The Bachelor host pushing back on that notion.
Recalling the interview, Rachel recently shared, “It’s a struggle. I literally have PTSD from that interview…from watching it, from the aftermath.”
Rachel detailed the troublesome aftermath of the interview, sharing, “Friendships were lost over it; people were calling my job asking for me to get fired. It was total harassment; it was a really tough time.”
Despite the harassment, Rachel doesn’t regret the valid points she made during the interview and feels that she was living out her purpose by using her voice.
Rachel expressed, “But I guess I couldn’t live with myself if I held back. I just never want to live in a place of regrets, and I feel like I was given this platform for a reason, and I have a certain purpose, and I’m supposed to live that out.”
Rachel Lindsay plans to share more about mental health
Rachel Lindsay has always been adamant about using her platform to bring awareness. While she cut ties with The Bachelor, she still intends to use her voice to bring about change.
Rachel’s next venture includes releasing a book of essays on January 25th called Miss Me With That: Hot Takes, Helpful Tidbits, and a Few Hard Truths.
In the book, Rachel will focus a chapter entirely on mental health and when talking about the mental health chapter, Rachel revealed, “it’s probably my favorite in the book because I talk about how I got into therapy and why. It’s interesting the journey I go through, and the stigma in the community when it comes to Black people…you’re supposed to pray your problems away. I struggled with religion versus therapy, but that is what has kept me grounded. That is what’s kept me sane. Meditating, yoga, just taking a break.”
It seems therapy and all of Rachel’s mental health practices have helped her recover after her and Chris Harrison’s explosive interview.
The Bachelorette is currently on hiatus on ABC.