The Bachelorette reunion special: Rachel Lindsay wishes for more diversity

The Bachelorette reunion special is less than a week away. While she’s excited for the episode, alum Rachel Lindsay wishes there had been more diversity.

The Bachelorette reunion special is coming up fast; you can catch the episode on ABC in less than a week on Monday, May 6. For many of the former leads, this will likely be a special time as they all come together to celebrate one of the most transformative periods of each of their lives. For one former Bachelorette, though, there was more to consider. Rachel Lindsay sat down with Us Weekly to talk about her complicated feelings as she returned to the mansion.

Rachel, a very popular lead for The Bachelorette, was also a historically significant one. She was the first woman of color to lead the show, a fact which she carefully considered as she dated through her slew of suitors. She knew the weight of her calling to represent minority women and she handled things beautifully.

As she returned to the mansion for The Bachelorette special, Rachel commented that she was once more extra aware of her race.

"It was sad for me to look around the room and [see that] no one else looked like me. It was sad for me to be the sole representation for women of color."

Rachel Lindsay kicked off the push to see women of color leading the series and—while we have yet to see another minority lead for either The Bachelor or The Bachelorette—there’s definitely more of a conversation surrounding the topic than there was before. During Colton Underwood’s season, there was a small wave of fan support to see Tayshia Adams as the next Bachelorette. Although she didn’t land the spot, there seems to be more hope for diversity in the future and that’s partly due to Rachel’s work in season 13.

Thankfully, the sadness that tainted the reunion special for Rachel definitely did not ruin it. She went on to comment that she was grateful for a series that allowed women to take the lead in the same way that the men do.

"The best part for me was being in the midst of the women who paved the way for me to be the Bachelorette. They started this ‘journey’ at a time when it wasn’t popular to be the Bachelorette. America was not as accepting to see a woman in this role the way they were accepting of men."

As usual, Rachel’s comments on The Bachelorette are smart and classy. We can’t wait to catch her on the reunion special and look forward to the new age of diversity that she’s helping to usher in.