Tayshia Adams is reflecting on her historic tenure on “The Bachelorette,” for which she served as the reality TV series’ first biracial lead.
“I have so many stories of bringing families together, which is never something I thought people would be telling me,” the 33-year-old, whose father is black and mother is of Mexican descent, tells Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea” podcast.
Adams — who recently made her reality TV comeback on Amazon Prime Video’s “The GOAT” — notes that her run as the “Bachelorette” felt more meaningful as it converged with wider discussions about racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the Black Lives Matter movement, plus the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election.
“It was a really hard time for everyone, and so that was a really rewarding experience,” says the Orange County, Calif., native, who became the second woman of color to star as the “Bachelorette” after Rachel Lindsay in 2017.
Adams acknowledges the “very heavy” side of representing the biracial, black and Latinx communities during unprecedented sociopolitical divisiveness in the US.
“It was … a very heavy experience to be having fun and being in this bubble and dating while there’s literally riots and such heavy things going on in our world at the same time,” she tells us.
“I felt so out of touch and disconnected when these were really difficult times for me to be a part of. So, it had its challenges, but it also had its benefits.”
Adams — who didn’t shy away from impactful conversations about race with her suitors throughout filming — says the biggest benefit of starring on “The Bachelorette” was providing an escape for viewers who were also debilitated by the harrowing news cycle of the time.
“People’s senses were heightened, but I almost gave them a sense of relief,” she says.
“One of the best compliments I got was like, ‘My family came together because we were watching your season’ or ‘It was such a trying time, and we just wanted something light to watch and somebody to fall in love with, and we fell in love with you.’”
Adams, who replaced Clare Crawley as Season 16’s leading lady after the latter made an early exit, ultimately handed her final rose to now ex-fiancé Zac Clark. The two broke up in November 2021, and she is now rumored to be dating “Summer House” alum Luke Gulbranson.
While Adams prefers keeping her love life under wraps these days, she enjoyed getting back in front of the camera for “The GOAT” — despite an early elimination from the competition series, also starring the likes of Kristen Doute and Jill Zarin.
“I lead with the heart, and I kind of feel like I just kind of want to have everybody be in the conversations. And typically, in this type of show, that’s not always the case. You have to form alliances, you have to be competitive, you have to have strategy,” she shares.
“Well, I wasn’t ready for that. I would maybe do it a little bit differently — not too much — but maybe just not show my cards that I’m an actual threat right off the bat.”
Still, Adams is grateful for the learning experience of signing on to a project that felt “just not in [her] wheelhouse.”
The New York City resident — who has co-hosted multiple seasons of “The Bachelorette” — is currently pursuing opportunities in the hosting space but is open to the possibility of fronting her own unscripted series.
“A docuseries would be incredible,” Adams says. “Maybe this would be the reason to kind of, like, lift the lid on all aspects of my life and just kind of, like, let people in on, like, who I am today.”
“The GOAT” is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Freevee, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.
