The Truth About Rachel Lindsay And Kevin Durant's Relationship
The Bachelorette's first-ever Black lead Rachel Lindsay has been making headlines recently, following a controversial Extra interview with Bachelor host Chris Harrison. After Chris defended Season 25 contestant Rachael Kirkconnell from allegations of racism and urged America to show "a little more grace, a little more understanding, a little compassion," the backlash was swift.
Despite an initial apology from the longtime host, Rachel — who received an outpouring of support from Bachelor Nation — remained unimpressed with Chris' words. That is, until Chris appeared on Good Morning America on March 4, 2021 to publicly apologize for his "mistake."
"I do accept the apology," Rachel told her fellow Extra host, Billy Bush. "The fact that, once again, you know — this isn't the first time he's apologized to me — he apologized again on GMA today and I do accept that, and I think it's important for me to say that because we need to move forward." Now, Rachel might be letting bygones be bygones here, but she also explained on the Extra segment that she is hopeful the situation will spark more "uncomfortable" conversations tied to race.
As Bachelor fans no doubt look forward to a more inclusive future for the franchise, we are taking the opportunity to look back and learn about Rachel's past. For instance, you may not know she once cozied up to an NBA star prior to finding her happily-ever-after with husband Bryan Abasolo! Keep reading for the scoop on Rachel's relationship with Kevin Durant.
Did Rachel Lindsay really date Kevin Durant?
In June 2017, Us Weekly broke the news that former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay (pictured above with her now-husband, Bryan Abasolo) was once in a relationship with Brooklyn Nets forward, Kevin Durant. Reporting that the two had met and dated while attending the University of Texas at Austin, Us Weekly called the relationship "pretty serious."
However, Rachel was quick to set the record straight on The Ringer's Bachelor Party podcast with Juliet Litman. "I'll put it like this: I know Kevin. We went to college together at the same time," Rachel explained when asked directly by the host whether she'd dated the All-Star player (via Sports Illustrated). "The way the media played it out, I think they said we were still serious and we were almost engaged. No."
Playing it coy on the details of what exactly went down, Rachel admitted to hanging out with Kevin and praised him as "a great guy" (per Sports Illustrated). There you have it — Rachel clearly doesn't kiss and tell! Now that this interesting nugget about her past is cleared up, we're back to swooning over her sweet Instagram pics with Bryan and speculating over what her future in The Bachelor franchise will look like.