Rachel Nance isn’t holding back, and she’s penned an essay about the racism she faced during and after her The Bachelor stint.
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The ICU nurse from Hawaii who currently lives in California opened up about hateful comments she’s received on social media and how she’s still in the process of healing for TODAY.com.
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“I put a safety filter on TikTok and Instagram so I couldn’t see what everybody was saying. I blocked words like ‘animal’ and ‘Asian’ and ‘skin,'” Rachel recalled.
Rachel began her essay by sharing how she had been nominated to appear on Joey Graziadei’s The Bachelor season and she thought it would be “a great opportunity” to showcase her culture with the world.
“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.
Joey fell for Rachel on The Bachelor because the positive and bubbly bachelorette openly shared her passions and roots with him.
“For my hometown date… I let my family take the reins and introduce him to several Filipino customs — traditional dances and a feast of lechon,” Rachel recalled.
“Before the date, I had to prepare myself. I wondered, ‘Am I doing too much, showing my culture?’ But my family loved it, and I loved it. As soon as that episode aired on the east coast, I knew something was off.”
Rachel admitted that she began receiving “some direct messages” on her social media.
“[There were] people saying I’m disgusting, and ‘seeing you guys kiss is foul.’ I deleted the messages,” Rachel noted.
“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 said she tried her best “not to let it get to” her. She even fired back at haters on Instagram at the time, telling them to “go touch grass.”
But Rachel clarified, “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.”
Rachel said she “started deleting” negative and nasty comments in attempt to protect her loved ones from getting hurt. Rachel had hoped her family wouldn’t see the comments, but there were apparently too many to hide.
“It was too much. They’d already seen,” Rachel acknowledged.
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Rachel admitted The Bachelor wasn’t the first time she ever dealt with racism; however, she never really opened up about her past experiences.
It was apparently Rachel’s appearance on The Bachelor: The Women Tell All that changed everything for her. During that taping, Rachel found the confidence and courage to slam the trolls and stand up for herself.
“I didn’t want anyone to think, ‘Oh, she’s just trying to make a scene.’ While I was on stage talking, the girls were cheering for me. I felt the love from all of them. The audience, too,” Rachel shared.
“For the first time since getting all those hateful messages, I just didn’t feel alone.”
Rachel is also a two-time sexual assault survivor, and now the full-time nurse has made it her mission to help survivors in the health care field.
“When I was in high school, I was sexually assaulted, and I didn’t tell my family for years. I took myself to the doctor’s office to make sure I was OK. A couple years later, it happened again, at a party,” Rachel revealed.
“In Asian culture, we’re raised to not show too much emotion, we’re taught to not say too much. I held onto that for a long time, and I knew going into college that I wanted a career that allowed me to help people.”
Although Rachel has been through a lot, she’s glad The Bachelor has given her a platform on which to speak and raise awareness.
“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,” wrote Rachel, who was eliminated from Joey’s season in third place after Fantasy Suites.
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On whether she’d appear on a reality TV show again, Rachel shared, “I don’t want to say no, but I also don’t want to say yes because I only want to say yes to opportunities that feel right in the moment.”
Rachel 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.”
After The Bachelor: The Women Tell All aired, Rachel took to Instagram and wrote about how The Bachelor was “one of the hardest yet most beautiful journeys” of her life.
“So thankful to my family and friends who supported me through it all. I found an appreciation for my faith that helped me stick to my morals and never lose sight of who I am as a person. I had the chance to meet some of the most amazing people who I am blessed to now call my friends and extended family,” Rachel wrote.
“Thank you to Joey for this beautiful relationship. Although short lived, the memories will last a life time. If there’s one thing I learned from my favorite show Friends is that Joey and Rachel will always have love for one another and support one another. Thankfully, in my case this is also true.”
Rachel concluded, “Nurse Rachel might’ve missed her shot at love but got it right by falling back in love with herself. I can’t wait to see what the future holds! Thank you to @abcnetwork @bachelorabc for the memories. Till the next crazy adventure I embark on.”
A few hours later, Rachel fired back at trolls, revealing how it’s part of her Asian culture to remain quiet, always be respectful, and apologize first.
“No more,” Rachel proudly stated.
“It is time that we speak up. To all my minorities… speak up and speak loud. We bring honor to our family by addressing racism. Take up space! Never be ashamed of where we come from and do not be ashamed to speak your truth!”
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About The Author:
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.