Charity Lawson is getting ready for her season of “The Bachelorette” to air.
As she promotes her new season of the reality television show, she is opening up about her time on Zach Shallcross‘s season of “The Bachelor”.
Charity Lawson Says She Was ‘Blindsided’ On ‘The Bachelor’
Charity Lawson was sent home just ahead of Fantasy Suites on Zach Shallcross’s season of “The Bachelor”, to which the 27-year-old admits was shocking.
“Yeah no, I didn’t [see it coming],” Lawson said on “The Jennifer Hudson Show” in regard to when Shallcross sent her home. “I did not. I will say I was a little blindsided because me and Zach always had, what I felt, was a very honest and open relationship, no matter if it was a challenging conversation to have.”
“But I will acknowledge that at that point in the process, it’s almost hard not to be blindsided because he’s making difficult decisions,” she continued to explain. “And so I didn’t see it coming, but I mean, he had to make an uncomfortable decision that was best for him.”
Does Charity Lawson Have Closure?
The host of the talk show asked the now “Bachelorette” lead if she has closure from her breakup with Zach Shallcross, to which Lawson said the two had a chance to talk about everything that happened off-camera.
“We did have an opportunity to talk about that,” Lawson told Hudson. “I asked him what that process was like for him [to] make that decision — how did he navigate and how did he go about it?” Lawson was referring to how Shallcross chose his final three women — Ariel Frenkel, Gabi Elnicki and Kaity Biggar, sending Lawson home.
“I asked him what was the turning point, you know, where did it go wrong?,” she continued to explain. “And he basically reiterated to me that it wasn’t anything that went wrong; it was something he honestly struggled [with] and was going back and forth all day before that Rose Ceremony and he just had to make a decision.”
The now “Bachelorette” lead admitted, “For me, I was like, ‘I don’t know if that makes me feel better’,” though she did say Shallcross acknowledged her feelings.
Lawson Says ‘The Bachelorette’ Is ‘Bigger Than Her’
The 27-year-old also opened up about being the fourth woman of color to hold the role of “Bachelorette” lead and the second monoracial African American woman to be the “Bachelorette.”
“It’s bigger than me,” Lawson told Jennifer Hudson on the talk show, “and I’m honored to hold that representation for other people at home that look like me — little girls and women of color who can look up to me and acknowledge that this is possible for them too.”
Rachel Lindsay was the first woman of color to be the “Bachelorette” lead on Season 13, followed by Tayshia Adams, who split Season 16 with Clare Crawley. The most recent before Lawson was Michelle Young, who was the Season 18 lead.
Lawson explained how she still can’t believe she is the “Bachelorette.” “I still am [processing it],” Lawson said on the show. “This time last year… I was graduating and then working [as a child and family therapist] and getting the opportunity to go on Zach’s season and be on The Bachelor, and now I’m on my journey.”
Charity Lawson’s “The Bachelorette” season will premiere on Monday, June 26.
