The Bachelor alum Becca Tilley has given an update on her relationship with Hayley Kiyoko and how she feels pressure has been lifted off her shoulders.
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Becca, 33, finally confirmed she's in a relationship with Hayley in late May after quietly dating for four years, and now she seems thankful and relieved to be a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.
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"I feel really good. It's such a weird thing because we've been together for four years and we've been living openly," Becca told E! News. "Everyone who's around us knows, but it just hasn't been on social media."
Now that her romance is on social media, Becca shared, "I think having that pressure taken off of not having to worry about posting something with her in it or her posting something with me in it, that part has been really nice."
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Becca gushed on her podcast last month that Hayley makes her feel "brave" and the reaction to her new relationship has been overwhelmingly positive, with a lot of "love and support" from others.
"I realized this is so much bigger than me and my relationship and my personal experience because if it helped anyone feel comfortable or brave to be comfortable with who they fall in love with, then that's way bigger than me and my fears and what I was scared of," Becca explained.
"It's very humbling to read comments like that and realize the significance of something as simple as falling in love and sharing that."
Becca noted how falling in love is "a very personal thing," adding, "and in any relationship, whether it's a same-sex relationship or a hetero relationship, I think there shouldn't be pressure from people who don't know you or shouldn't have an opinion on your personal life."
The chiropractic assistant teased in February 2020 on her "Scrubbing In with Becca Tilley & Tanya Rad" podcast how she was "95 percent" sure she'll marry her partner, although she hadn't identified Hayley as her partner at the time.
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"We're in a really good place," Becca told E! News. "I feel pretty good about the number being higher than 95."
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Becca introduced her romance with Hayley to the world last month by tweeting "3rd time's a charm" and posting an Instagram video of their sweet moments together over the years, which she captioned, "Hard to say if this is a hard or soft launch, but it is a launch."
Hayley, who is very open about her sexuality, replied in the Instagram comments, "The best four years ever. I love you Becca."
Becca going Instagram official with Hayley came only hours after Becca kissed Hayley onstage in front of an audience at a party held in West Hollywood, CA.
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"It was Hayley's night but it became Becca's night too because she came out publicly with the kiss," a source previously told Us Weekly.
Becca and Hayley were celebrating the release of the singer's new "For the Girls" music video, which was the first single from Hayley's upcoming album, Panorama, out this summer.
On a recent episode of Becca's "Scrubbing In" podcast, Becca admitted she was the first one to make a move, which jump-started her romance with Hayley.
The pair apparently connected at Hayley's album release party.
"The night we met she was like, 'Is Becca into girls?' And [our friend] was like, 'No, but her sister is.' We were really pushing to set her up with my sister," Becca shared.
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Becca said she never worried about being "rejected" by Hayley because she already knew that the singer was into her.
"We had been drinking. It's, like, 2AM at this point. And we went back to [our friend's] house, and everyone was, like, walking down the stairs. And I actually, I pulled her back, and I kissed her," Becca revealed.
"And she still says to this day, 'I never would have made the first move, like, there's just no way.'"
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Hayley left for a tour shortly after their first kiss and Becca said they dated long-distance for the first year of their relationship.
Despite being apart, Becca said they "fell in love so fast," according to Us.
"I would fly out to, you know, different tour destinations... I think the longest was the month she went on her European tour. But we tried to see each other, like, every two weeks," Becca explained.
Becca insisted on her podcast she never intended to keep her romance with Hayley a "secret." Instead, Becca just wanted a "private" romance kept off of social media.
"We were very much ourselves. We held hands in public. We kiss. If I met someone... I introduce her [as] my girlfriend, Hayley. I never was like, 'This is my friend or my best friend,'" Becca clarified late last month.
"I really made an effort to make sure that there was that distinction between private and secret."
Becca even introduced Hayley as "my girlfriend" at Ben Higgins' November 2021 wedding to Jessica Clark as well as JoJo Fletcher's wedding to Jordan Rodgers in early May 2022.
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Rumors that Becca and Hayley are dating circulated online for years before Becca's public coming out.
Becca and Hayley were photographed together at NYLON's Annual Young Hollywood party in May 2018, People reported, and that same year, Becca confirmed she was off the market.
Becca then revealed on her podcast in 2019 that she was "in love" with someone, and she subsequently admitted to Us in September of that year that she wanted to keep her relationship "private" and all her "own."
At that time, Becca wasn't sure when she'd publicly identify her partner. She said she felt protective of her romance and had reasons why she was keeping it under wraps.
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"I just feel if the moment comes where I'm like, 'Oh, I'm just going to say something,' then I will," Becca told the magazine. "I'm really happy and I hope to eventually start opening up about it more, but I'm happy with it being private right now."
In 2019, the Louisiana native said she had yet to introduce her private love to her parents.
"My family lives far away, so my sisters I guess have been introduced, but not the rest of my family," she told Us in November 2019. "I'm really happy. I'm in a really good place."
Becca opened up to Entertainment Tonight one month later about how she felt an "instant connection" with her significant other that she couldn't ignore.
Prior to getting romantically involved with Hayley, Becca competed on Season 19 of The Bachelor starring Chris Soules, which aired in 2015, and finished as the runner-up.
Becca, a self-declared virgin at the time, then attempted to win Ben's heart on The Bachelor's 20th season and finished in the Top 5 in 2016.
Becca began dating The Bachelorette 9 and Bachelor in Paradise 1 alum Robert Graham in December 2016.
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"It's fun. We've been friends for a long time and it was just a natural progression, and he's just amazing and been patient with me," Becca told the magazine that month.
"I need someone that's patient and willing to deal with me, and he's been that way. So it's been fun, it's been an easy transition."
But Becca and Robert broke up in May 2017, with Becca later revealing she had been working and traveling too much to be in a committed relationship.
"[The breakup] was more of me just wanting to take this time for myself and focus on me and what I'm doing," she said in September 2017. "It wasn't like one of us cheated or there was this bitterness. I still care a lot about him and there's no hard feelings."
Becca hoped Robert felt the same way and would say the same thing.
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