The Bachelorette alum Rachel Lindsay has made a subtle change that sends a loud message since her estranged husband, Bryan Abasolo, filed for divorce.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Rachel's name now reads "Rachel Lindsay" on Instagram, and the podcast host's bio reads, "Media Personality & Attorney."
Rachel, however, has yet to publicly address her divorce and the demise of her four-year marriage.
Bryan announced his decision to file for divorce from Rachel after six years together on Tuesday, January 2 by posting an Instagram statement both to his account and to his Instagram Stories.
"If you've been following me for a while, you know I don't like to put my personal affairs on social media and like to keep a safe space for our family," Bryan began.
"Many of you know me as a chiropractor, and also as a husband, my proudest role so far. After more than 4 years of marriage, Rachel and I have made the difficult decision to part ways and start anew."
The chiropractor continued, "My parents have been married forever and I'm a family man, but sometimes loving yourself and your partner means you must let go."
Bryan wrote how he wanted fans to "hear it from the source" before reading about his breakup with Rachel in "the blogs," allowing people to make up "their own reality."
Bryan concluded of his 38-year-old estranged wife, "Please respect the spaces of our family and friends as we figure out our next steps. Respectfully, Bryan."
Bryan filed for divorce from Rachel on that same day, on January 2, according to court documents obtained by Us Weekly.
Bryan had reportedly listed Sunday, December 31 -- New Year's Eve -- as the former couple's date of separation. He also requested spousal support from the Season 13 The Bachelorette star.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWWhile Rachel hasn't released a statement yet, she uploaded a quote via her Instagram Stories on Monday, January 1.
The quote read: "Lessons of 2023. Do not trust all the thoughts. Go where you are celebrated. Real friends are just real. If it's forced, it will probably fail. If they can't show up for themselves, they won't show up for you -- move on."
The message continued, "Patience will always be a friend. It's okay to outgrow people, places, and things. Growing pains are necessary to get to the next level. People will show who they are, always, believe them."
And on New Year's Eve, Rachel hinted that 2023 had been a difficult year for her, prompting speculation from fans that she may have been referring to marriage problems with Bryan, at least in part.
"Definitely one of the hardest years of my life," Rachel captioned a video montage of many different moments with friends and family, "but choosing to focus on grateful moments and carrying that energy into 2024."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Rachel recently raised eyebrows when describing her relationship with her The Bachelorette 13 winner, Bryan, whom she married in August 2019.
Rachel told former The Bachelor star Nick Viall on the December 21 episode of "The Viall Files" podcast that she and Bryan "live totally different lives" and "don't work well together."
ADVERTISEMENT
"Whereas, me, especially now that I'm not doing Extra, I have a lot more free time. I'm podcasting, I'm researching, I'm paying attention to what's in the news, and then I'm back in hustle mode with trying to get a second job," she continued.
"So I go to events... We're just in two totally different places."
Rachel explained that's one of the main reasons why she and Bryan rarely posted about each other on social media. In fact, their lack of Instagram activity had fans speculating that they were on the outs for a while.
"There's not a lot of time to take pictures of each other and show what we're doing, because we're in the bed or that kind of thing," Rachel explained.
And Rachel said she liked to keep her relationship with Bryan special and personal.
"I was just like, 'I want to keep this for ourselves' and, you know, marriage has ups and downs, but you never know when we're good or when we're not because we just don't really put it out there, and that's just kind of always been us," Rachel said.
"And I kind of want to keep it that way, so when I want to share something, I do."
However, Rachel -- whom Nick had eliminated in third place on The Bachelor's 21st season -- admitted that she understood why Bachelor Nation was frustrated with the pair and criticized them from time to time.
"I get [why people throw stones at us]. We don't put ourselves out there at all [except] maybe an anniversary or a family trip here or there, or a holiday. But I think I [stopped posting] because people were so critical of us when we came off the show," Rachel said.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Rachel, a former attorney from Texas, chose Bryan as her winner on The Bachelorette over runner-up Peter Kraus. Rachel and Bryan tied the knot in Mexico in Summer 2019, just about two years after they got engaged.
While Rachel and Bryan only enjoyed being social-media influencers for a short time, Nick admitted he and his pregnant fiancee, Natalie Joy, post constantly about their lives, which could support the argument they're "using [their] relationship" for fame and money.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We did at one point, in the beginning... Also, you guys work well together and you work together. We don't," Rachel said.
"And we learned that! You've got to protect the marriage, and we just don't work well together. I commend you guys; not every couple can do that."
Despite the fact Rachel and Bryan were running in different directions, she claimed they were still excited about starting a family together, hopefully in the near future.
"We're working on having a kid," Rachel told Nick.
"Sometimes that's not as easy as you think. You think, 'Okay, when I'm ready, I'm ready and it will happen,' and then it doesn't. So, that's been a little bit of a struggle too."
Rachel said she and Bryan were also "ready for a restart" in 2024 after spending the holidays with her family.
"But I'm very much at peace. I have a lot more time to just do the things that I want to do and figure out what's next. I'm trying not to freak out because I'm so used to controlling everything," Rachel concluded.
Rachel discussed the pressure she's feeling to have a baby at her age during an August appearance on the "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe" podcast.
"I feel the pressure, like, I'm 38. Oh my gosh, I don't even have eggs frozen. It's just a lot!" Rachel said at the time.
"And [my therapist] is telling me, as I'm in this transition phase, this is truly -- this is so scary to think about -- the first time that I've ever actually had time to be still and deal with my reality."
The Season 13 The Bachelorette star confessed to Kaitlyn -- who also feels pressure to have children and feels she's running out of time after her split from The Bachelorette alum Jason Tartick -- that she's "impatient" as well as a "control freak."
ADVERTISEMENT
But Rachel said she didn't plan to share details about her family planning with fans because she values privacy both in her personal life and within her marriage.
"When you come off the show, you feel the pressure of showing people, 'How are we doing?' Because they want that, they fell in love with you as a couple and they want to see how you're doing and they want to check in," Rachel explained.
She added, "You feel like you have to perform."
Rachel recalled grocery shopping with Bryan after their stint on The Bachelorette and having people watch their dynamic. Rachel said at one point, Bryan walked away from her and the media "blew it up into this whole thing."
"I felt anxiety to have to perform for people I don't even know, and they don't know me," Rachel shared.
"And then I'm only giving them a piece of what our relationship is, which is up and down! You go through seasons all the time and it's work. I just didn't want to do that. So very quickly, we decided, 'We're only going to share what we want to share,' and people still criticize us for that."
In fact, there were months when Rachel and Bryan didn't post a single thing about each other, nor did they like each other's Instagram posts.
"Everyone assumed that we were breaking up. They were counting how long it had been since we last posted about each other," Rachel lamented.
Rachel joked about how she's a "terrible" social-media person, and actually wishes she wasn't because she was "losing money" because of it.
"I think that may have contributed to the success of our relationship," Rachel concluded.
"I am more private with my personal life, and that's why when people say, 'Are you going to do another reality show?' I don't want people to know where I live, what people I hang out with, and what I drive. I'd rather do something else -- I'd host a show!"
ADVERTISEMENT
And Bryan added at the time, "I'll be ready when it happens. That's the attitude you've got to have. I don't think anyone is ever ready for it; they just do it. And baby after baby, maybe it gets easier."
After Rachel and Bryan got engaged, they lived in Rachel's hometown of Dallas, TX, for a while before moving to Miami, FL, in 2019 where Bryan continued working as a chiropractor.
Bryan gushed of his wife to Us in 2021, "Rachel just had like an X-factor [when I met her]."
"She was a triple threat -- brains, beauty, personality, great sense of humor," he added. "She was a professional. She had a career. Everything on paper was top notch... She keeps me on my toes [and] she challenges me to be a better man."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
