The Bachelorette: How Joe Park Felt When He First Saw Tayshia Adams

On Season 16 of The Bachelorette, Bachelor Nation collectively fell in love with Joe Park, the New York City-based anesthesiologist who wooed fans with his maturity, kindness and hilarious dad jokes. Though he was eliminated by Bachelorette Tayshia Adams after only a few weeks, Joe remains a fan favorite that many hope to see on the dating show's spinoff, Bachelor in Paradise. According to his bio, Joe signed up for The Bachelorette because he was "done wasting time" and was "100% ready to settle down and find someone to build a family with." 

Ahead of appearing on the show, he said ideal woman is "physically fit and passionate about maintaining a healthy lifestyle," has a "nice smile" and "who is kind, laid back, self-aware and intelligent." It sure sounds like both Clare Crawley (who unexpectedly left the show after falling in love with Dale Moss after a couple weeks of filming) and Tayshia, but finding love with either of them wasn't in the cards for him.

In a post-Bachelorette interview with Entertainment Weekly in November 2020, Joe spoke about his journey and made a surprising confession about his first impression of Tayshia. Keep scrolling to find out how he really felt about the Bachelorette.

Joe Park admitted he had "no idea" who Tayshia Adams was when she walked through the door after replacing Clare Crawley on Season 16 of The Bachelorette. Despite being unfamiliar with the reality star — who appeared on both Colton Underwood's season of The Bachelor and Season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise – the accomplished anesthesiologist had only positive things to safe about her. 

He told Entertainment Weekly, "She walked in and she really does have a vibrance about her that is undeniable — outside of the really bright [sequined] dress she was wearing that was like kind of blinding in and of itself. Outside of that, she really does have like this aura about her. I can't even put it into words, there's a je ne sais quoi, I don't know, but it's there." He added, "If I could drop another French phrase, there's a joie de vivre, a joy of life, that's undeniable."

It shouldn't really surprise anyone that Joe didn't know who Tayshia was since he's not an avid Bachelor-watcher. In fact, he said someone from the show reached out to him and that he joined The Bachelorette because the coronavirus pandemic inspired him to seize the moment and go for it.