Rachel Lindsay Confirms Exit From 'Bachelor Happy Hour' Podcast

Lindsay bid farewell to the podcast after revealing she's been struggling amid the controversy surrounding 'The Bachelor' franchise.

Rachel Lindsay is stepping away from the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast. The former Bachelorette made the announcement during the show's 99th episode Tuesday, revealing that their landmark 100th episode will be her last. While it's unclear who will replace Lindsay, a new co-host is set to be announced at a later date, according to a press release.

"I'm going to make this short and sweet: All good things must come to an end and I feel like certain things run their course and for me, I have run my course when it comes to the podcast," Lindsay said. 

The former reality TV star went on to praise the podcast's original co-host, Ali Fedotowsky, before sharing what the show has meant to her.

"You know, we started off this podcast talking about how much fun it is, and it is, and the community that we've started and we're already here with 100 episodes and I'm proud of it and what it's become and it started off with Ali, who's fantastic. I feel like I don't give her enough praise," she told current co-host Becca Kufrin.

"Then Ali had to go and you came in and you, like, didn't miss a beat and that's been a lot of fun to see our friendship grow through the podcast, just to have fun with all the new blood that's coming in from the show to work through hard moments, to come here and vent when we're going through something," she added. "That's what the podcast gives you, that community."

Lindsay ultimately cited prioritizing her mental health as a reason for leaving the podcast.

"But for me, I've been struggling, that's no secret," she said. "And it's been really, really hard for me lately and a lot of the things that we talk about on this podcast are also about taking care of yourself and finding your peace and protecting that peace and protecting your mental health. And so for me, I just feel like I've come to the end of doing the podcast and I'm glad that I'm leaving on a high note where it's the 100th episode, it's such a big milestone."

She went on to thank fans for their support and urged fans to continue to support Kufrin and the podcast as it moves on without her. 

"Thank you for riding with me for such a long time. Continue to ride with Becca, support her, and uplift her and this podcast as well," she said.

Lindsay has been open about her struggles with The Bachelor franchise over the last year, including her break from Instagram back in February, amid harassment she was receiving from Bachelor Nation.

According to Van Lathan, the reality star's co-host on her other podcast, Higher Learning, Lindsay decided to take a break from Instagram after Bachelor fans were "spamming her with all kinds of rude and hateful things."

"I woke up, looked at my phone, one of the first things I saw [was] something negative and I said, 'You know what? Not today. Not even this weekend,' and currently still not now because I'm still disabled," Lindsay further explained on the podcast. "It was the best decision that I could do for myself to detach from that negativity. I needed that. I feel so much better. I'm not 100 percent, but I feel lighter."

The Bachelor franchise released a statement at the time, condemning the online harassment Lindsay had been receiving.

"As executive producers of The Bachelor Franchise we would like to make it perfectly clear that any harassment directed towards Rachel Lindsay in the aftermath of her interview with Chris Harrison is completely unacceptable," the statement read. "Rachel has received an unimaginable amount of hate and has been subjected to severe online bullying, which, more often than not, has been rooted in racism. That is totally unacceptable."

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