Bachelorette alum Rachel Lindsay SLAMS contestant Will Gaskins as her ‘worst date’ & says he ‘wouldn’t hold her hand’
RACHEL Lindsay slammed Will Gaskins as her “worst date” after she was paired with the contestant who had “barely dated black women.”
The Bachelorette star spoke candidly about her time on the franchise and about her experience as the first African-American female lead.
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Rachel, 36, talked to Vulture about the men who competed for her love during season 13 of the ABC show.
After admitting that “several of the Black men on my season were not into Black women” she opened up about her date with Will Gaskins.
Will, 32, was eliminated in week six of the show, but joined the cast as a black man who was “not into black women.”
In her interview, Rachel explained how the producers wanted to pursue that narrative, so they arranged for her to have a one-on-one date with the Sales Manager.
“It was the worst date. He wouldn’t hold my hand. He was so uncomfortable kissing me,” she recalled.
“There was music playing in the street, and he didn’t want to dance with me.
“A producer said, ‘You’re going to have to send him home at the end of the date. We can’t even edit it to make it look like he likes you,'” she confessed.
Rachel later met her husband Bryan Abasolo on the show, and the couple tied the knot in August of 2019.
The reality star recently admitted that she “didn’t expect” franchise host Chris Harrison to leave the show after he made “racist” remarks during their interview about Rachael Kirkconnell.
Rachael sparked heavy controversy when photos surfaced of her at an Antebellum-themed costume party while in college.
Chris and Rachel spoke about the issue in an interview that led the host to step down from his role after 20 years.
Earlier this month, the TV personality announced his departure, which surprised both fans and the Bachelorette alum.
Alongside a photo of himself at a previous reunion show, he wrote on social media: “I’ve had a truly incredible run as host of The Bachelor franchise and now I’m excited to start a new chapter.
“I’m so grateful to Bachelor Nation for all of the memories we’ve made together.
“While my two-decade journey is wrapping up, the friendships I’ve made will last a lifetime.”
In a conversation with Extra shortly after Chris’s statement was released, Rachel said: “I wasn’t expecting for it to happen, not after the announcement.
“I think several past contestants coming forward and saying they didn’t want him to be part of Paradise. I think Katie Thurston, her very last tweet before she went to film her season was that Chris needed to step away,” she explained.
“I think that, coupled with the interview that happened on this very stage, maybe led to him not coming back.
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“Well, it’s been 19 years and if you do watch the show we saw less and less of Chris. 19 years is a big accomplishment. Maybe that’s the case. We don’t know. Maybe they were ready to move on,” she closed.
A production insider told The Sun that ABC execs were “blindsided” with the news breaking about Chris’s departure.