As some members of Bachelor Nation continue to wonder how Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia’s double Bachelorette season would look if Kaitlyn Bristowe (and Tayshia Adams) were cohosting, the season 11 lead is weighing in as she recaps the Monday, August 8, episode with Us Weekly.
“After hosting for two seasons, I got to see a little bit more of, like, the hard work that gets put into the show, the amount of people that care — I saw producers crying when people got hurt,” the 37-year-old reality star said on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast on Tuesday, August 9. “There’s people away from their families. … Camera crews, so many times that just, like, put their heart and soul into the show. And I have to remember that when watching because at the end of the day, it is a TV show, and they make good TV. But of course, I have opinions.”
Kaitlyn has “mixed feelings” watching Gabby, 31, and Rachel, 26, both look for The One on season 19.
“I started off being really angry watching it and frustrated and feeling like the show was going backward,” the “Off the Vine” podcast host admitted. “I love that you’re saying, ‘We’re going to show a beautiful female friendship that’s empowering.’ Love that. But there’s no chance that it’s not going to end with them getting pitted against each other. Whether that’s planned or not, it’s going to happen because you’ve got two really incredible, beautiful, intelligent women up there.”
The Dancing With the Stars champ called the idea “a recipe for heartbreak” that is going to “get messy” no matter what.
“I don’t want the girls to ever compare themselves to one another. And as the season went on, I could see that happening,” she continued. “So again, I got frustrated, but I also wanted to try and look at it through a different lens and say like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I hate this.’ But if Gabby and Rachel love this, and they actually, like, are leaning on each other and communicating and saying, ‘I’m so glad I had her there during this,’ then I can’t really, you know, poopoo on it if it’s working for them.”
Kaitlyn, who briefly shared the Bachelorette title with Britt Nilsson on the 2015 season until the men voted her as the solo star, added: “Sometimes I have to really compartmentalize their separate relationships, them as Bachelorettes. And kind of tuck my own insecurities away of how, maybe, triggering it is for me to watch since I was compared to another woman on my season.”
During Monday’s episode, Rachel was left feeling like a “loser” after Logan Palmer opted to switch from “Team Rachel” to “Team Gabby” because he still had feelings for the former cheerleader. Host Jesse Palmer stepped in to comfort the pilot — who has repeatedly broken down about feeling “rejected” as a co-lead.
“I think Jesse is incredible. I love him as a human being. I love him as a host. He is doing the perfect amount of like, appearing in there. It’s hard … He has been in the position of being the Bachelor, so he gets it. But we got that little taste of a woman understanding another woman’s insecurities and being able to validate them,” Kaitlyn, who cohosted seasons 17 and 18, said. “I think I just would have tried to adjust Rachel’s crown a little more and been like, ‘You are a goddess, and these men are here for you. And even if there was just one Bachelorette, the guys don’t have a choice. It’s confusing to these guys that they are that meant to, like, not think about this other woman. You find out who really is there for you. It’s a little bit of a blessing, so hang on to those ones and show those ones all of the love and respect that are there for you.’ But I still think Jesse walked in and did a great job at being, like, ‘You can’t be a perfect Bachelorette.’ And he’s so right. But I don’t know if I would have done anything differently. I do love that they have each other because they have such a beautiful friendship.”
For a complete recap from Kaitlyn, listen to Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast.
