The Bachelorette co-host Tayshia Adams has given Andrew Spencer a strong pat on the back for his intimate conversation with Katie Thurston about possibly being in an interracial relationship and welcoming mixed children together.
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Tayshia complimented Andrew S., a 26-year-old pro football player who splits his time between Vienna, Austria and Chicago, IL, for how he had tackled a difficult conversation with Katie about race during their first one-on-one date of Season 17, which aired during last week's The Bachelorette episode.
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"I know I was there for the season, but I wasn't really privy to seeing every single conversation that went down," Tayshia, who co-hosts Katie's The Bachelorette season with Kaitlyn Bristowe, said during a recent episode of her Click Bait with Bachelor Nation podcast.
"But this conversation, I loved Andrew S. already, but just how real, honest and courageous it was for him to have this conversation with Katie on his one-on-one -- I think is what everybody needs."
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Tayshia continued to tell her podcast co-hosts Joe Amabile and Natasha Parker, "I think that it's interesting because Katie called herself naive. I think, unfortunately, a lot of America is naive and especially in thinking this way, about interracial relationships and, you know, whatever race you are, whatever difficulties you have to go through."
Tayshia, who grew up biracial in a predominantly white community in California, starred on The Bachelorette's sixteenth season last year and got engaged to Zac Clark, who is Caucasian, at the Final Rose Ceremony.
Given Tayshia ended up in an interracial relationship post-The Bachelorette, she gushed of Andrew S., "I just found this so courageous of him, and I'm just so happy that he was able to have a conversation [that's] open and honest with Katie. Her reaction meant so much to me."
Once Andrew S. brought up his concerns about Katie feeling judged or criticized in society for dating a Black man and potentially having mixed children, Katie said she would "never give an [expletive]" if people questioned her.
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Joe, who competed on The Bachelorette and will appear on Bachelor in Paradise for the second time this summer, agreed with Tayshia on Click Bait that it was "a very important conversation" for Andrew S. and Katie to have.
"I don't think it's ever a good idea to shy away from important conversations early on in a relationship," Joe, 34, reasoned.
"Andrew S. is a good friend of mine [from] before [The Bachelorette]. He lives in Chicago, and yeah, I do have to say, like, I'm proud of him. I think he's doing an incredible job."
Joe added, "Everything that you're seeing is [him being] himself. He's being genuine, he's real. He is one of the nicest people that I know."
Joe explained how Andrew S. is fun and always smiling, and he noted how the football player being himself on The Bachelorette was clearly "working" for him.
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Joe praised Andrew S. for sincerely "falling" for Katie and not being afraid to have tough conversations with the Bachelorette.
"I think Andrew is crushing it, and I couldn't be happier for him," Joe said.
Natasha, 33, also commented on Andrew S.'s demeanor and energy on the show.
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"He's very vibrant, and you feel his authenticity... Some people go on a show and they just want to make out and they just want to make cute TV, and then other people have these real conversations," Natasha acknowledged.
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"And you're seeing these real conversations that are initiated by these men who are like, 'I'm looking for a wife.' And you can tell that he wants to really find a partner and let her know what he's looking for in a partner."
Natasha said she also appreciated Katie "calling herself out as naive" and thought the conversation was "really great."
During Andrew S. and Katie's one-on-one date, Andrew S. explained how one of his ex-girlfriends had admitted she was "worried about having mixed children."
"I know her background and her character, and she's not racist or anything, but she was worried about going to a grocery store and someone asking, 'Are these your kids?' And they not look like her, and it was tough for me," Andrew told the Bachelorette.
"That was a woman I thought I was going to propose to soon, and hearing that, it was tough."
Katie said it broke her heart to hear that story, which actually brought the Bachelorette to tears.
"I feel so naive as a white woman of the struggles that you experience as a Black man, especially a Black man trying to date a white woman," Katie shared.
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But Katie pointed out how she and Andrew S. would make "beautiful children" together and she -- being a strong woman -- would be "a Mama Bear" to those kids no matter what.
"All I want in life is love. All I want is to have a beautiful family, regardless of how they look," Katie insisted.
"That's the relationship I want," Andrew S. said in reply. "Honestly, I have really fallen for your heart, and I believe in love. You have gotten me really close."
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Katie said she believes Andrew S. will be the best father and the best husband one day, and she admittedly felt very fortunate to have this "one-of-a-kind" bachelor on the show with her.
Andrew S. gushed at the end of his date about how Katie was exactly what he had been looking for in a partner, and he gushed, "I definitely see myself falling in love with Katie."
The Bachelorette's next Season 17 episode is set to air Monday night at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
Click here to learn more about Andrew S., and click here to read spoilers about Katie's The Bachelorette season and find out whether Andrew S. won Katie's heart and her final rose.
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