Rachel Lindsay Reveals ‘Derogatory’ Word Vanessa Grimaldi Called Her On ‘The Bachelor’

Rachel Lindsay and Vanessa Grimaldi were never close while filming Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor, but now the source of their strained relationship is finally being revealed. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Rachel Lindsay explained why she didn’t get along with Nick Viall’s short-lived fiancée and she gave her a rather optimistic opinion on why ABC never showed one of their most upsetting exchanges.

In the ET interview, Rachel revealed that she chose to distance herself from Vanessa after the special education teacher pulled her aside and called her a “bully.” Lindsay made it clear she found the term she found to be extremely derogatory, especially because she has faced stereotypes her entire life.

“Vanessa told me that I used ‘aggressive’ tones with her, and I was very upset by that,” Lindsay told ET.

“There are so many stereotypes placed on African-American women. She called me a ‘bully’, and for her to use that phrase was offensive to me. She had no examples to match it…. I also felt as a special education teacher who works with children, she was using the word frivolously.”

Lindsay said she later gave Grimaldi the opportunity to retract her statements or apologize, but The Bachelor winner refused to take back the harsh words. According to Rachel, she has never received an apology from Vanessa Grimaldi. In fact, Lindsay says Grimaldi allegedly called her the name again, saying, “No, you’re a bully, and I told Nick that.”

“This was an assassination on my character,” Lindsay said of Grimaldi’s words to her. “After I’ve faced uphill battles for my entire life and worked to prove myself in my career. What Vanessa said was offensive.”

Rachel Lindsay ultimately asked Bachelor producers to keep her and Vanessa separated for the remainder of the season. Rachel was sent home after the fantasy suite dates on Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor and the five-time franchise star ultimately proposed to Vanessa.

Rachel Lindsay added that she is not sure why the conversation with Vanessa Grimaldi was never shown on air during Viall’s season of The Bachelor. Rachel gave ABC the benefit of the doubt, saying perhaps producers wanted to focus on Nick Viall’s love story and not the drama among the women.

Fans of TheBachelor first got a clue that there was a lot more to Rachel and Vanessa’s chilly relationship when fellow franchise star Danielle Lombard teased about it on her Reddit AMA earlier this week. Lombard revealed that Vanessa stabbed her in the back and then called Rachel something “derogatory.”

Vanessa Grimaldi has not offered any comment on Rachel Lindsay’s allegations about what went down between them. Grimaldi and Viall ended their engagement in August, while Rachel Lindsay is still happily engaged to Dr. Bryan Abasolo.

[Featured Image by Craig Sjodin/ABC]