The current cohost of The Bachelorette, Tayshia Adams, is joining the masses in praising contestant Andrew S. for his courageously candid conversation about interracial dating.
Tayshia, who has been in multiple interracial relationships, including with John Paul Jones and her current fiancé Zac Clark, spoke out about the significance and necessity of what Andrew S. shared and what it meant to the public and to her personally.
Tayshia feels Andrew S. is helping America be less naive
On her Click Bait with Bachelor Nation podcast, Tayshia shared, “I love Andrew S. already, but just how real, honest, and courageous it was for him to have the conversations with Katie on his one-on-one, I think [it] is what everybody needs.”
Andrew S. has been applauded by viewers for using his one-on-one time with Katie to speak on the fact that they would be in an interracial relationship and how that might be perceived by closed-minded individuals.
He also spoke about his past hurts in interracial relationships and the importance of him and Katie being on the same page when it comes to having biracial children.
Tayshia also took the time to talk about Katie’s response to Andrew’s vulnerability and noted, “I think that it’s interesting because Katie called herself naive. I think, unfortunately, a lot of America is naive and especially about interracial relationships, and you know, and whatever race you are [and] what difficulties you have to go through.”
The country and Bachelor Nation have been called to examine their intolerance now more than ever, especially with Rachel Lindsay being outspoken about toxic subgroups within Bachelor Nation that are more racist and bigoted.
While there has been a small smattering of minority contestants throughout The Bachelor franchise, it’s been rare for the contestants to feel comfortable enough to discuss both their race and the realities of dating outside of their race. This is why it’s refreshing to see Andrew S. address race head-on rather than brush it under the rug.
Tayshia has personal experience as a biracial woman
Tayshia found it to be a nice and powerful change of pace for Andrew and Katie to bluntly speak about being a black man and a white woman and the possibility of having biracial children together.
Tayshia is biracial herself being half African American and half Mexican. During Tayshia’s season of The Bachelorette, she and Ivan had a refreshingly vulnerable conversation about race where they were able to shed light on their experiences of being biracial and how that impacted their identity and romantic relationships.
Knowing the courage it takes to share openly about race and interracial relationships on The Bachelorette, Tayshia expressed feeling proud of both Andrew and Katie by saying, “I just found this so courageous of him, and I’m just so happy that he was able to have a conversation [that’s] open and honest with Katie. Her reaction meant so much to me.”
These honest conversations are what many fans and members of The Bachelor franchise have been pushing for the show to highlight more.
It truly did take courage for Andrew S. to speak about a topic that has often been taboo on the series and hopefully these candid conversations continue.
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.