Rachel Lindsay is finally shedding some light on her falling out with fellow “Bachelor” contestant Raven Gates.
The Season 13 “Bachelorette,” 36, claims in her new memoir, “Miss Me With That,” that Gates, 30, wrote about her “black skin” in a journal she kept while they competed for Nick Viall’s heart on the ABC show in 2017 — though she clarifies that is not the reason they are no longer friends.
“Raven was always writing in her journal,” Lindsay writes. “One night, she read aloud her first-night impressions of each of us. ‘Rachel – she has black skin. And she seems nice.’”
The attorney, who went on to become the first black “Bachelorette” later that year, remembers thinking, “’What the f–k? Who says that s–t? Not only do you think it, but you actually say it out loud for people to hear? Of all the ways you could describe me, that’s what you came up with? You ain’t ever seen a black person before? Like, never seen one of us up close? Like I���m out here in the wild like a gorilla?'”
Lindsay, who grew up in Texas, notes that she gave her new pal the “benefit of the doubt” because of Gates’ upbringing in Arkansas. She also says she was “surprised” by how close they became throughout filming.
Page Six has reached out to reps for Gates for comment.
Lindsay continued spending time with Gates after their time in Bachelor Nation ended.
Gates even got Lindsay’s blessing to date Adam Gottschalk, who was a contestant on her season of “The Bachelorette.” The pair said their “I dos” last year and welcomed their first child earlier this month.
By 2019, Lindsay and Gates were noticeably absent from each other’s Instagram pages, leading Lindsay to speak out on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” that October.
“I can’t say,” Lindsay said at the time when asked what went down between the pair. “I promised I wouldn’t say, but it was enough for me to not want to be friends with her anymore.”
The reality star then cryptically stressed that she would “never” be friends with Gates again.
In her new book, Lindsay recalls being “trashed” by fans for what she said on the Bravo late-night show.
“They went so far as to call Raven the bigger person, as she did interviews claiming to have no idea why I was upset with her and that she missed our friendship,” she explains. “Even though it was clear that I’m the one who ended that relationship, I don’t get the benefit of the doubt that I had a good reason to do so.”
