Season 16 of The Bachelorette may have been one of the most different seasons of all time (throwback to Clare Crawley and Dale Moss) but one thing remains the same: it’s awkward for the winning couple to watch the season back.
“Look, we’re human, right? So, it’s not natural for her to be dating 20 guys, and it’s not natural for me to be dating someone who’s dating 20 guys,” Zac Clark dished exclusively on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast, noting that the engaged couple “can laugh about it” now.
“And then watching it back?” Tayshia Adams added on the podcast. “It’s been difficult at times. But I think we’ve navigated to the best of our abilities, and it’s worked out.”
Tayshia, 30, and Zac, 36, got engaged during the Tuesday, December 22, finale of The Bachelorette after she sent Ben Smith packing (for the second time). The twosome told Us that their highlight of the season was revisiting their proposal with her family on Tuesday.
“We had an opportunity to hang a little bit with them last night during the finale,” Zac told Us. “And I’m just so grateful that they’re a part of my life. And it’s no mistake that Tayshia is a by-product of that family because they’re just really good people.”
Zac, who works as an addiction specialist, also revealed during the finale that he is nine years drug-free.
“It’s who I am, you know, so I’m very comfortable with that part of my life,” the New Jersey native told Us. “And I think there’s been a lot of questions about that. And for me, it was important to let Tayshia know who I am to my core, and if she wasn’t going to be OK with that, then we [would have] just went our separate ways. But that’s not what happened. She was very open-minded and understanding. And for me, as a whole, like, there’s this whole thing around addiction and mental illness — a stigma. And I don’t even like that word because I feel like it does exactly what we’re trying not to do, which, hopefully, you know, people can see that. I went on this journey, and here I am, and, you know, I live a really blessed life.”
For a complete recap of the season 16 finale of The Bachelorette — listen to Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast.