Rachel Lindsay Says She Was 'Quiet' and 'Scared' After Bryan Abasolo Proposed on The Bachelorette: 'Weirded Out'

Lindsay, 39, recalled being "so terrified" during the days following her engagement to the chiropractor, who filed for divorce from her in January

Rachel Lindsay; Bryan Abasolo
Rachel Lindsay (left); Bryan Abasolo. Photo:

Emma McIntyre/Variety via Getty; Jesse Grant/TELEMUNDO via Getty

Rachel Lindsay recalled Bryan Abasolo proposing to her as the "scariest day" of her experience on The Bachelorette.

Lindsay and Abasolo got engaged on season 13 of the ABC dating show in 2017, and were married for four years before Abasolo filed for divorce in January. On the August 6 episode of Getting Grilled with Curtis Stone, Lindsay, 39, looked back on her engagement to the chiropractor as she admitted she "felt weird" in the aftermath of the proposal.

"I can't say exciting was the word. I was scared. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, now I have to tell my parents that I got engaged,' because when I left to go do The Bachelor, I was like, 'Don't worry, I'm not going to fall for any of these men,' and I did, so I was so terrified to tell them," she said. "And then I just kept looking at the ring, and he was excited, and I just was like, I think I was very quiet on the way home. I just – I was weirded out."

Lindsay revealed that going into the show, she "did not think [she] was getting married."

"After that first night, I was like, there's potential here, but I still was like, there's no way I'm gonna marry this person. And even when you get engaged at the end... it's the scariest day when the cameras shut down," she recalled. "But you have this ring on your finger, and there's this man, and for the first time, you ride in the car together, you're going to the same hotel room together. It's like – this is the beginning of your new life."

Bachelorette RACHEL LINDSAY BRYAN ABASOLO, RACHEL
Bryan Abasolo proposes to Rachel Lindsay on "The Bachelorette".

As they got to know each other without cameras, Lindsay said they realized they "actually really have a lot in common" and she remembers thinking, "We're really good together and I'm excited about what's to come."

Now that the relationship is over – and the pair remain in the midst of a divorce battle – she said she "learned a lot" from Abasolo, 44, but the relationship "ran its course."

After Lindsay and Abasolo shared differing accounts of their relationship and how it ended, she said on the podcast that she's now "trying to navigate" the dating world.

"Dating is a big chapter. So that's gonna be new. That's a whole new experience, because I haven't done it really since my twenties," she said. "So I don't know what I'm gonna be like in that world. So that's new. Or if I even want it, you know? Divorce is such a tricky thing. I don't even know how I'm going to feel about all that."

Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo attend the “Players Party” co-hosted by Michael Rubin, MLBPA and Fanatics at City Market Social House on July 18, 2022 in Los Angeles, California
Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo attend the Players Party at City Market Social House on July 18, 2022.

 Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Fanatics 

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She also reaffirmed her desire to start a family – something that Abasolo addressed in a video posted by his divorce coach Rene Garcia last month.

"I want a family. That is something that I really want that is important to me...I really want children," she shared. "And I have to keep saying it and remind myself because I want – 1. I wanna manifest it. But 2. It's very real to me, and I want that. I didn't get that before, so going forward, that is something that I would want."

In Abasolo's video, he said it was "hard" to watch his ex struggle with fertility issues, saying, "It felt terrible. Just watching her sadness, it broke my heart. It was like I was failing expectations on all fronts."

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