It’s been two years since Tayshia Adams’ season of The Bachelorette aired — and she can look back with fondness on how she’s stayed true to herself.
“My biggest lesson [was] just to remain true to me and I feel like I did that,” the 32-year-old reality TV personality exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, December 7, while promoting her partnership with World Vision. “I’m really proud of that and I feel like some people get caught up in the mix of everything and I think the best way — the best practice — is just to be you. And I think with that, all of these things have come and it just kind of finds you when you’re true to yourself. So I think that’s my biggest lesson is just to continue to remain grounded and be very thankful for everything.”
Fans watched Adams get engaged to Zac Clark during the December 2020 finale of season 16 of The Bachelorette. Nearly one year later, the twosome split in November 2021.
Tayshia Adams and Zac Clark Kristina Bumphrey/Shutterstock; Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock
“Him and I both know the truth and where we stand, and I’ve actually never said anything in the media about our relationship except for [that] we’re no longer together,” she told Us. “And I know people might think otherwise, but that’s literally the only statement we’ve ever given out. I think that’s just something about maturity and how we decided to proceed and yeah, at the end of the day, no one else needs to know anything else.”
Despite sparking speculation that she had a new man in her life over the summer — a chef named Dorian — Adams told Us that she’s single.
“People really want me to be in a couple relationships. … My biggest priority, truthfully, I’ve said it before, I know people don’t believe me, but it was really just working on me,” she explained. “And just kind of finding my own [way] in New York City, but also focusing on the things that really make me happy, which are my philanthropy efforts and I really love the fashion industry as well, [and] fitness and my mental health.”
Adams is also just friends with Bravo’s Austen Kroll, who joked earlier this month that they were “in love” after meeting on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in October 2021.
“We have a couple of mutual friends here in the city and every time he is here, I happen to run into the man. But he’s awesome,” she said. “I can’t say that we’re fully in love like he has claimed, but love you, Austen.”
When it comes to dating another reality star overall, Adams said “never say never” before opening up about the difficulties of being in a public relationship.
“I think that’s another lesson I’ve learned is I really wanna protect that in the future, and kind of, maybe, keep it quiet and under wraps for a minute and then maybe let the people in on the news after a little while,” she told Us. “People are private investigators. I don’t even know how they figure out half the things they do now.”
More recently, Adams collaborated with World Vision to raise money for Ukraine relief through her All Things Possible Purse after a trip to Moldova, where thousands of Ukrainian refugees are living following the war with Russia.
“I really wanted to come up with something for them to get more funds for the Ukraine crisis fund. So we came up with getting this handmade woven purse and with each donation for the purse, the money goes straight to the fund so that they can properly allocate it. But I think the best [way] to [get involved] is to buy the All Things Possible Purse and when you donate you get a cute purse in return,” she explained. “It’s a really cool token to take with you to kind of remember what cause you donated to and to remind yourself, like, just to love on each other and just to be a good human when you can.”
For more from Adams, watch the video above.