Becca Tilley is all for the Bachelor or Bachelorette showcasing same-sex relationships – if it’s done right.
“I know they did that in Australia. I think they had a Bachelorette who was bisexual and I just saw a few clips on TikTok. I didn’t watch the season or anything, but it looked like it was pretty well done and done in a very respectful way,” the 33-year-old former Bachelor contestant said on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast. “The one thing that I have learned in my life so far is that you really can’t make everyone happy.”
Bachelor Nation did highlight Demi Burnett and Kristian Haggerty’s relationship (and brief engagement) on season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise.
“With Demi and Kristian from Bachelor in Paradise, there was that story line, they opened up that conversation. And I think if they do it in a way that’s respectful and just normalizes same-sex relationships, I think there’s a way that it can be done,” Becca continued. “I just worry that, you know, it turns into something — I just never want it to be done in a way that we go backwards. I hope that one day that’s an option and that they consider that. But I also wonder, like, what would that look like for everyone in the house? … It would be great TV [if the contestants fell for each other] because you’re all living in a house together. It’s like, ‘How could it not happen?’ If people were having connections.”
The “Scrubbing In” podcast host noted that she “appreciate[d] the effort of them having that story line on the show” even though some fans weren’t happy that Kristian wasn’t part of the franchise before she showed up in Mexico after connecting with Demi off screen.
“I think it’s mostly important to show the age old saying, ‘Love is love,’” Becca said. “Just show it — people having the chance to date and fall in love with each other as opposed to making it a spectacle thing.”
The Bachelor season 19 alum, for her part, went public with girlfriend Hayley Kiyoko in May after four years of quietly dating. She told Us that the “For the Girls” songstress is a “Bachelor stan” — and initially lied to Becca about seeing her on the series.
“Later on, I found out she had in fact watched both of the seasons I was on,” she told Us. “I never was like a huge [fan]. I watched it after I was on it, but I wasn’t consistent every Monday. [Now] every Monday that shows on, we are sitting there and analyzing it. I’m watching it from a different perspective because of, like, being on the show. I can kind of go, ‘Oh, that sounds like maybe a producer asked that question or phrased that question,’ and she’ll get so upset.”
The Bachelorette airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. For more from Becca, watch the video above.
