There are several reasons why Rachel Lindsay's season of The Bachelorette will go down in history. Not only was she the first Black star on the reality show, but she and her final rose man are seriously cute together. Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo's relationship timeline proves that love conquers all.
When Lindsay chose Abasolo over fan fave Peter Krause, viewers had mixed feelings, and she's admitted to Entertainment Tonight that the lack of receptiveness forced her and her new fiancé to develop a "thick skin." What ultimately matters, of course, is that Lindsay felt confident in her decision — and seemingly still does, given that their relationship is going strong till this day. They're married now!
Let's be real — despite producing some super shippable duos, this franchise doesn't have the *best* success rate in terms of long-term love. In fact, between 24 seasons of The Bachelor, 15 seasons of The Bachelorette, and 6 seasons of Bachelor in Paradise, 18 Bachelor Nation couples have survived after the cameras stop rolling. But those rare success stories — like Lindsay and Abasolo's — are magical AF.
Since Lindsay and Abasolo got engaged on The Bachelorette's 13th season finale, the couple has been happily settling into their new life in Miami — and from their Instagram love letters to their candid interviews about married life, it's hard not to swoon over these two (even if you were #TeamPeter). Take a walk down memory lane via their full relationship history and you're bound to understand why #RnB has withstood the test of time.
Bachelorette fans were shook when Lindsay accepted Abasolo's proposal — in part because she had been literally sobbing her eyelashes off about Peter Kraus one day prior. Regardless of all the drama, Lindsay maintains that she was 100% sure that Abasolo was the right person for her when he got down on one knee on a mountaintop in Rioja, Spain.
She told People in an interview: “Going through it, I felt Bryan was perfect for me. Obviously, nobody’s perfect — but perfect for me."
She also admitted she kind of blacked out during the proposal itself, because it felt so surreal.
"I mean we’re in Spain, we’re on top of this castle — I’m standing in front of the man of my dreams, and now he’s about to get down on one knee," she told People. "And so the moment he did it, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is happening!’ I couldn’t do anything but scream. Like that’s all I could do, I was so happy.”
But for real, how can you not be rooting for that kind of bliss?
There may have been many haters, but Lindsay and Abasolo just fought all the backlash with an outpouring of love. In the weeks following the airing of the finale, they both posted incredibly heartfelt, emotional notes to each other on IG just to show how strong their relationship is, and how much they DGAF about the disapproval.
On Aug. 8, Abasolo called Lindsay his "rock," writing: "Every single day literally gets better and better with you and reaffirms that God placed you in my path for a reason. We've gone through so much...the ups, the downs, the challenges... but in the end, what shines above all else is the deep love, loyalty, respect and admiration we have for each other and that's what will continue to carry us through into our future." Lindsay reciprocated, writing her own post in which she called him her "better half" and thanked him for always "taking the high road" and loving her unconditionally.
Later that month, they celebrated their engagement in Miami with their respective families.
In case you needed further proof that Lindsay and Abasolo are #goals, I present Exhibit A: their killer couple's costume as a Playboy Bunny and Hugh Hefner.
After the season ended, the newly engaged couple began living together in Lindsay's hometown of Dallas, Texas (although they later relocated to Abasolo's home city of Miami in early 2019).
In an interview with ET's Lauren Zima at one of their favorite date night spots, they opened up about starting this new chapter together off-camera.
"This is my city. This is where I was born and raised, but it's been forever since I've had a man with me here, and let alone a fiancé," Lindsay told Zima. "It's great to have Bryan here with me and to show him my city and where I'm from. I'm glad he loves it. That's what's key."
Lindsay also added that they were starting to get to know each other on a deeper level — including all their quirks and differences.
"Sometimes I take too long [to get ready]," she said in the interview. "Sometimes Bryan takes too long. Sometimes Bryan has selective hearing. It's the little things like that that we learned about each other that you can't get when you're on TV."
Lindsay also revealed that they had already talked about eventually having kids — three or four, to be exact.
"We just need to get married first," insisted Lindsay, who wants four kids, while Abasolo wants three. "We are focused on the wedding first and then we can start talking about kids...
Lindsay and Abasolo have traveled quite a bit together since getting engaged — but this trip to Spain definitely stands out, thanks to their flurry of adorable social media updates documenting their adventures. From wining and dining to exploring the streets via bicycle, it looked like the soon-to-be-married couple was having a blast.
Almost exactly two years are Abasolo's proposal aired on national television, Abasolo and Lindsay said "I do" in front of close friends and fam on Aug. 24, 2019, at Mexico's Royalton Suits in Cancun. While they deliberately opted not to televise their wedding, they did have plenty of Bachelor alumni in attendance, according to People — including Kristina Schulman, Astrid Loch, and Bibiana Julian.
On her decision not to have a televised wedding, Lindsay said she felt it showed to Bachelor Nation that what they have is "real."
“We don’t need TV," she told People. "We don’t need to get paid. We’re doing this because this is what we want to do. And I think it has more meaning.”
All you really need to know is — the vows were handwritten, the dress code was island chic, and Lindsay practiced her twerking moves specifically for the reception.
“Rachel was the epitome of elegance and grace as she walked down the aisle towards Bryan," wedding planner Michael Russo told People. "The ceremony was filled with so much joy, love and laughter. As they exchanged their personal handwritten vows, you could feel the unbridled emotion and powerful connection between them.”
I'm not crying, you are.
Shortly after officially becoming husband and wife, Lindsay and Abasolo celebrated their nuptials on an epic Mediterranean adventure, with stops in both Santorini and Mykonos. They reportedly stayed at the Andronis Arcadia, a luxe five-star retreat that offers sweeping views of the Aegean Sea, and based on their IG posts, their activities including sightseeing, smooching in the water and sunbathing on a boat like total bosses.
Whenever a celeb stops posting pics with their SO, fans tend to jump to the conclusion that there's trouble in paradise. On Sept. 10, 2019, Lindsay decided to set things straight with an honest #MCM post about Abasolo.
She wrote: "Instagram isn’t a reflection of real life. It is a reflection of what one chooses to show you. Just because my Instagram feed lacks a picture of @thebryanabasolo does not mean that he is missing from my life. Sometimes it is nice to keep some privacy to your relationship and keep some things just between the two of you. So my #mcm goes to the man who is a permanent fixture in my life and not just one on my Instagram profile."
Say it louder for the people in the back, Rach.
Just a little over a month after they tied the knot, Lindsay and Abasolo were already talking about starting a family in the near future.
"We hope [to have kids] sooner rather than later," Rachel told Us Weekly. "We're not preventing it, but if we're planning, in the next year."
Since Lindsay and Abasolo spent their first two Christmases together in Miami with his fam, they decided to shake things up in 2019 and enjoy the holidays with her loved ones in Dallas. Abasolo shared on Instagram that it was his first Christmas not with his family, but he emphasized that he was "excited" to be with hers.
Soon after, the pair flew back to Miami just in time to ring in the new year.
When Abasolo launched a new health-focused podcast, Lindsay was obvi his first guest. In an Instagram post about this milestone, Lindsay wrote: "It’s not often we get to work together nor do we share a lot about our relationship on social media. But this interview was really special because @thebryanabasolo was able to ask questions on another level because he knows me in a different way."
The best part? Their convo digs deep into how they've been able to grow together and maintain a healthy, happy relationship.
While Lindsay and Abasolo have shared multiple birthday tributes for each other on the 'Gram, her post for his 40th bday was particularly sweet. Under a photo of them cheesin' for the camera, she wrote: "You are the dream that I can speak to. If this is 40, sign me up for the next 40 and the next and the next."
Ugh — I just can't, you guys.
You know it's true love when you trust bae enough to cut your hair — and that's exactly what Abasolo did during quarantine. He shared the experience with fans via IG on April 20, saying he "finally caved" on letting Lindsay "groom all of this unruliness."
In a June 9 interview with Entertainment Tonight’s Lauren Zima, Lindsay revealed that she and Abasolo didn't hesitate to get involved in the Black Lives Matter protests — in fact, doing so brought them even closer. She also shared that being an interracial couple has forced them to have some "tough" conversations.
“Communication has always been the foundation of our relationship and we always have those tough conversations, so watching Bryan protest and scream ‘Black Lives Matter’ and really get emotional in the whole experience...of course I look over and am like, ‘Gosh, I made the right decision, because he understands me and I understand him,” Lindsay told Entertainment Tonight’s Lauren Zima. “It was also marching for our future, our future child, who will be Black. I don’t know if they’ll be a male or female, but they may face some of these injustices that we’re experiencing right now. So, we’re marching for our future family, and that’s what was representative of what we went out there and did that day."
