Rachel Lindsay ; Inset: Bryan Abasolo
Former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay is still healing from the end of her relationship to Bryan Abasolo and isn’t really to dive back into the dating scene just yet.
“Honestly, it’s not a focus right now,” Lindsay, 39, exclusively told Us Weekly at Project Angel Food’s 35th Anniversary Angel Awards Gala on Saturday, September 29. “I’m just trying to get through it. Then, get at me.”
Lindsay and Abasolo, 44, were married for four years after initially meeting on season 13 of The Bachelorette. Abasolo filed for divorce in January and Lindsay has since been focused on her self-improvement.
“Friends [and] family keep me empowered,” she explained to Us on the red carpet in Los Angeles. “I saw this quote the other day about romanticizing life and it was just learning about loving the simple things, whether it’s going on a walk, whether it’s just being thankful for the air that we breathe [or] whether it’s just like laughing with a friend.”
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Lindsay added, “I’m really holding onto those moments, because they give me life.”
The reality TV star initially struggled to cope with her new reality as a singleton.
“I think I read this somewhere, I’m not sure, but by the time women decide they want a divorce, they’re done, [and] I was done,” Lindsay previously revealed in a July YouTube interview with Scott Evans. “Doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard or a re-adjustment. It’s still a struggle daily, but emotionally, I felt I was very sure this was what I wanted to do.”
Being in large crowds often made Lindsay feel “uncomfortable” and anxious.
Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo
“I thought, ‘What was wrong with me?’ My safety net is done [and] I don’t have my ring on, I don’t have a husband. I’m out here,” she said at the time. “I felt so exposed and vulnerable that I really didn’t go out for days.”
The former attorney added, “Slowly but surely, I started to gain my confidence back. I started skiing — I’ve never been skiing in my life — but I, weirdly, was good at it. … People say it’s harder to learn as an adult [but] I wasn’t afraid ‘cause I was in a place where I felt cold. I was like, ‘Oh, you want me to lean into this mountain like I’m falling over? [OK.]’”
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With Lindsay’s confidence back in full force, she is also prioritizing what matters most, including volunteer endeavors.
“When I first got to L.A., one of the first things I learned about was Project Angel Food through friends that I had for a while. Immediately knowing what their mission was, I wanted to be involved,” Lindsay told Us on Saturday. “Whether it’s working the phones at the telethon, making phone calls to different clients or customers, attending an event like this to show my support and use my platform to raise awareness for what they’re doing, or just serving meals like I do, I just love what they stand for.”
She continued, “I love that, no matter what, the odds are never against them. When COVID [happened], they never stopped. They even doubled what they were giving and they continue to do that. I’m just happy to be here to celebrate them and the work that [CEO] Richard [Ayoub] does.”
With reporting by Mariel Turner