Former Bachelor star Rachel Nance detailed her experience with racism from the reality show’s viewers in a personal essay, revealing that she was forced to “put a safety filter” on social media, blocking the words “animal,” “Asian” and “skin.”
After Rachel, 27, was nominated for Joey Graziadei’s season, which came to an end earlier this year, she decided that the show would be “a great opportunity” to showcase her culture.
“My dad is Arab and Black, and my mom is from the Philippines. I was born and raised in Hawaii, and I grew up in a big, blended family. I loved it,” Rachel wrote for Today. “For my hometown date on Joey Graziadei’s season of The Bachelor, I let my family take the reins and introduce him to several Filipino customs — traditional dances and a feast of lechon.”
Rachel admitted to thinking she might be “doing too much” before the date but shook off the feeling because she and her family “loved it” and were “so proud.” After her hometown date aired on March 4, Rachel “knew something was off,” she wrote. (Rachel made it to Joey’s final three, getting sent home following their overnight date, which aired on March 18.)
“I started getting some direct messages on my social media — people saying I’m disgusting, and ‘seeing you guys kiss is foul.’ I deleted the messages,” she continued. “Then once it aired all over, my phone blew up. People were saying my family is barbaric, my culture is barbaric, I’m a jungle Asian. People who were repulsed that Joey would even want to be with me.”
Initially, Rachel didn’t let the negative comments affect her. She even told haters to “go touch grass” in an Instagram Story post at the time.
“The attacks on me weren’t what bothered me — it was that people were attacking something my family was so proud of: where we come from. The comments were the worst. I started deleting any comments on my posts so that my family wouldn’t see them, but it was too much. They’d already seen.”
Rachel admitted she dealt with racism in the past and never spoke publicly about her experiences — but speaking up at the Women Tell All changed everything.
“While I was on stage talking, the girls were cheering for me. I felt the love from all of them. The audience, too,” she recalled. “For the first time since getting all those hateful messages, I just didn’t feel alone.”
Rachel noted in the essay that her upbringing taught her “to not show too much emotion,” but now she’s ready to heal. (Rachel also revealed in her essay that she’s a two-time sexual assault survivor.)
“Not being with Joey was the best outcome, because I fell back in love with myself, with my family, with who I am as a person,” she added, noting that she’s not sure if another reality TV stint is in her future. “I’m still a nurse full-time, and I love it. It’s crazy because sometimes patients or people in the emergency room lobby recognize me now. I’m passionate about advocating for sexual assault survivors, and also for mental health in the health care field.”
She concluded: “I’m not sure what’s next for me, but whatever it is, I hope I can be a voice for those who have been silenced.”
