Rachel, who’s still a nurse, shared that she’s “doing better” since The Bachelor ended. She explained, “It was sort of rough after the show immediately, but I’ve been able to go home and visit family.” Rachel added that she’s not saying that the hate she received on the show, “brought me down. Don’t get it twisted. But it’s still hurtful to hear … how [people are] so upset because of an interracial couple … It’s 2024.“ Rachel continued, “I mean having an immigrant mom coming from Hawaii, being a mixed race, it means everything to me. I’ve always said, ‘Take up space.’ Be proud of who we are and speak out about it.”
It’s good to hear that Rachel is still friends with Joey and Kelsey. She seemed to have good relationships with them on The Bachelor season 28, so it’s nice to see that continuing post-show. Rachel and Joey had a great connection, but he felt a stronger one with Kelsey. It was shocking to see how much hate Rachel received after Joey gave her a rose instead of Maria Georgas after the hometown dates. There was absolutely no excuse for the hate directed toward Rachel, especially the racist messages. People must realize that The Bachelor contestants are real people with real feelings.
The Bachelor season 28 host Jesse Palmer and Joey condemned these terrible comments during the “Women Tell All” episode, which was an important moment for the franchise. Although Rachel and Joey didn’t leave the show together, Rachel has played a crucial role in Bachelor Nation by speaking out against hate and racism. For too long, the franchise has swept these issues under the rug, but people like Rachel are publicly condemning this unacceptable behavior. Rachel deserves to find the love that she’s searching for, and, hopefully, she’ll return to the franchise some day to star in a future season of The Bachelorette.
