The former star of The Bachelorette, Tayshia Adams, admitted leaving her fiancée Zac Clark to help Katie Thurston find her future husband put her relationship to the test. The Bachelor Nation fan-favorite chased her hosting dreams this year when stepped in as a co-host alongside Kaitlyn Bristowe after longtime franchise host Chris Harrison stepped aside for perpetuating racism during an interview with Extra. Since then, Tayshia has been given a multi-year option contract to continue hosting the franchise for future seasons.
Tayshia and Zac first fell in love during season 16 of the ABC dating series. Their instant chemistry was a change of pace for the 37-year-old New Jersey native, as he wasn't hitting things off with the season's original lead, Clare Crawley. But once Clare left the season engaged to contestant Dale Moss after two weeks of filming, Tayshia was brought in and their romance blossomed week after week. One of the major milestones throughout their televised dates was when Zac revealed his dark past as an addict, and Tayshia stood by his side. After their beautiful engagement on the finale of the most controversial season yet, the duo started a new life together in New York.
In a new interview on former Bachelor contestants Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti's podcast, Almost Famous, Tayshia revealed how spending so much time away from her fiancée months after their engagement affected her emotional health. "It's hard to be in a new relationship and then kind of go away for a couple of weeks, you know what I mean? And this is me being real and honest," Tayshia said. "I think after that, it was kinda like we need to remember why we were with each other, and I think that that's absolutely normal." The former lead continued to explain how hosting Katie Thurston's season of the franchise was nostalgic and difficult. "For me, I'm not going to lie, because it was so close to, like, my season, I feel like I kinda was in my feels a lot of the journey. I would even text Zac and be like, 'I'm thinking of us through this thing. I'm thinking of how you kind of stressed out, like, [with me] going on a date or how I was feeling," she said, adding that she was "crying a lot."
This wasn't the first time the reality TV couple had some not so rose-y moments in the public eye. Breakup rumors swirled around the internet back in March when fans noticed Tayshia wasn't wearing her engagement ring in an Instagram story. However, the rumors were debunked when Tayshia explained they were looking at the wrong hand. "I love that there's so much love & support around our relationship, but please don't put unnecessary rumors/pressure on us," she said on social media at the time. "Annnnyyywayysss lol, now that that is cleared up, let's keep putting out positive energy as we head into this week. @zwclark I love you."
Distance only made the heart grow fonder, as Tayshia's soon-to-be husband was just getting into his feels on social media reminiscing on the anniversary of the day they met. Zac also celebrated Tayshia's continued hosting success on The Bachelorette in the heartwarming tribute. Long-distance relationships are always difficult, but it appears Zac is determined to do whatever he can to make the relationship work and make Tayshia's final rose last a lifetime.
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 PM ET on ABC.
Source: Almost Famous Podcast