Rachel Nance from the most recent season of The Bachelor has revealed that she was sexually assaulted twice before appearing on the hit dating series.
In an essay for Today.comThe 27-year-old, who is part Arab, Black and Filipino, said her cultural background partly contributed to her staying silent for so long.
“I was sexually abused when I was in high school and I didn’t tell my family for years. I went to the doctor myself to make sure everything was okay. A few years later it happened again, at a party,” she wrote.
‘In Asian culture we are raised not to show too much emotion, we are taught not to say too much. I stuck with that for a long time, and when I went to college, I knew I wanted a career where I could help people,” added Nance, who is a nurse.
Nance went on to share how working with victims of sexual assault in her capacity as a nurse helped her tell her own story.
Rachel Nance from the most recent season of The Bachelor has revealed that she was sexually assaulted twice before appearing on the hit dating series
Nance shared how working with victims of sexual assault in her capacity as a nurse helped her tell her own story
“I am very forthcoming when victims of sexual assault enter the hospitals where I work as a travel nurse,” she wrote.
“Make sure they only have female nurses and female staff. Give them a private room. Give them space. Let them talk when they are ready.” It’s very emotional and it can be triggering, but they need support.”
Nance also opened up about how she was the victim of racist abuse from trolls while vying for Joey Graziadei’s heart on The Bachelor.
“People said my family is barbaric, my culture is barbaric and I’m a jungle Asian. People who disapproved of Joey even wanting to be with me,” she said.
Nance placed third on The Bachelor this year, with Graziadei ultimately choosing Kelsey Anderson.
“I’m sad that I got my heart broken again,” Nance said in a confessional after being dumped in a March 19 episode.
She added, “I will always have love for Joey.”
The ICU nurse from Honolulu, Hawaii, cried as she said goodbye to Graziadei, 28, and he cried when she left.
Nance also shared how she was the victim of racist abuse from trolls while vying for Joey Graziadei’s heart on The Bachelor
The ICU nurse from Honolulu, Hawaii, cried as she said goodbye to Graziadei, 28, and he cried when she left
Nance returned for the live show and joined host Jesse Palmer, 48, on stage and cried again as he watched the rose ceremony scene.
“I was absolutely in love with him, but who wouldn’t be, he’s amazing,” she said.
‘I don’t regret it and I think I really opened up as much as I could at the time.’
Graziadei joined her on stage and said he cared about her so much and only wanted the best for her. Nance said being on the show gave her confidence in herself and thanked The Bachelor hunk for that.
She also discussed the racist abuse she received from viewers of the show.
“A lot of racists make comments about me and just call me the N-word or call me jungle Asian, all because I have a rose,” she said.
“I just want to remind people that we’re not just faces on the screen… People are so quick to be little keyboard warriors and kind of snap out of it because there’s no consequences,” she continued.
“But we have to pay the consequences emotionally and mentally and just be kind. Your words have weight.”