‘The Bachelorette’: Ben Smith Said it Was Easier to Tell Tayshia Adams About His Troubled Past Than it Was to Tell Her He Loved Her
Tayshia Adams’ season of The Bachelorette is over — and we know Zac Clark was the lucky winner. While fans adored the runner-up, Ben Smith, Smith had a hard time being as vulnerable as Clark when it came to expressing his feelings. And this ultimately led to issues with Adams.
Smith recently spoke to Bachelor among Nick Viall on his Viall Files podcast. And he admitted it was easier to talk about his mental health struggles than it was to tell Adams he loved her.
Ben Smith opened up about his past to Tayshia Adams on ‘The Bachelorette’
Smith connected with Adams early on in their romantic journey, but it wasn’t until their one-on-one date did Smith dare to get vulnerable. Adams could tell the Army veteran felt nervous about opening up. But Smith eventually talked to Adams about his past eating disorder and mental health struggles.
“I had two … suicide attempts in 2018 and 2019,” Smith told Adams on their date, according to Today. “I don’t mean to like throw that on you. It’s a weird thing to do here.”
Adams was grateful for Smith opening up to her. And the fan favorite received a ton of support from Bachelor Nation.
“I’m slowly realizing that being vulnerable is cool,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “I’m proud of you, immensely thankful for your support, and grateful to have you by my side. Wherever you are, I see you, I’m with you, and I love you a lot. Please be open, accepting, and give yourself the grace that you most certainly deserve.”
Smith said it was easier to talk about his mental health than it was to tell Adams he loved her
Viall had a lot of good questions for Smith after the Bachelorette season ended. And the topic of mental health came up. Smith got a lot of heat for being so open and vulnerable about his past but having trouble telling Adams how much he loved her. And he noted to Viall it was much easier for him to talk about his past than it was to talk about his current feelings.
“To be honest, it was completely unintentional,” Smith told Viall in regards to talking about his past. “My intention wasn’t to come on TV and speak about these things. … And so I got to a place with Tayshia where I was seriously considering marrying this person … and I didn’t want to enter into anything that might potentially be permanent without her knowing everything about me.”
“People can be like, ‘Oh, you couldn’t tell her that you loved her?’ And like, no, I couldn’t,” Smith added. “But, lower hanging fruit, I was able to talk about an experience that was incredibly important to me.”
Smith was very upset when Adams broke up with him
Smith didn’t expect Adams to break his heart at the end of the show. While he told Viall he thought he and Adams were completely on the same page, he later realized Adams’ connection with Clark was way stronger. Despite the initial heartbreak, he’s totally happy for Adams and Clark now.
“I’m so happy for the way it ended up,” Smith told Viall, according to E! News. “I’m so happy for Tayshia, I’m so happy for Zac. Zac and I were close throughout the entire experience. … You can see that they’re happy together. The fact that they’re still together, that’s incredible in and of itself.”
So, what’s next for Smith? Rumors abound that he could be a future lead for The Bachelor. We’ll have to wait and find out.
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