Charity Lawson on Classless Brayden Dig, Fantasy Suites
[This story contains spoilers from season 20 of ABC‘s The Bachelorette.]
Charity Lawson has been getting to see a different side of an early front-runner during her current stint as star of The Bachelorette.
The 27-year-old child and family therapist from Columbus, Georgia, was a standout on Zach Shallcross’ season of The Bachelor earlier this year. She returns for a second shot at love as the lead on season 20 of the ABC dating series, which airs its third episode Monday. Among the ongoing storylines is the drama surrounding Adrian Hassan telling her that first impression rose recipient Brayden Bowers called Lawson “classless” after a group date involving her kissing contestant Joey Graziadei for more than four minutes.
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Lawson chats with The Hollywood Reporter about her surprise over what Bowers had been saying about her, why her connection with one castmember is particularly notable, the forthcoming tension surrounding the fantasy suites, the prospective Bachelor candidates from her season and her feelings about the level of diversity among her array of suitors.
You’re presumably getting to now see more of Brayden’s behavior than you did during the filming. What’s been your reaction?
It’s been very surprising to watch back. I’m one person, so it’s impossible to be everywhere and have eyes and ears on everything. So to see, obviously, him vocalize certain things and then the conversations with the men, I wasn’t expecting that, so definitely was taken aback from it. When I think about how our connection was night one, it makes me feel funny. (Laughs.)
Did you anticipate that the long kiss might be awkward for other contestants to watch?
It definitely was something that I was incredibly mindful of. Even just being up there, I was thinking of that in my head. I was obviously trying to give space and honor Joey in that moment. But then I also was very mindful and trying to think of, “OK, the guys are having to watch this too.” That has to suck. But then again, it’s one of those situations [that there’s] not much control over. So for the guys, my best advice would have been to just close your eyes. I don’t know. (Laughs.)
In previous seasons, the first impression rose has been a predictor for the winner, but we’re seeing Brayden have a bumpy path. Was it surprising for you to have this early connection with him and then have the relationship take a different turn that you might have expected?
We know the first impression rose can sometimes essentially place a target on a lot of the recipients’ backs. I don’t know if that was the case for Brayden, but also it just didn’t help to see how open and vocal he was about certain things that maybe should have just been things that he kept to himself.
Why was Aaron [Bryant] the right choice for your first one-on-one, and how do you feel about that connection?
Aaron was definitely the right choice for that because we definitely had an immediate connection night one. I remember our conversation left me feeling very hopeful for what’s to come. So, what better way to start off this season with someone that I’m excited about, and I felt he was excited about me and happy to be there. The connection with Aaron is definitely something to look out for.
You’ve been the face of the franchise during a bit of a transitional time, with Mike Fleiss’ role changing and then the continued discussion about inclusivity for the franchise. You’ve talked about having advocated for yourself as a woman of color in how your story is told. How do you feel the franchise is moving forward, and what was your experience like?
Following my season, I have so much hope, and I’m excited for the future of Bachelor Nation and what that’s gonna look like for seasons coming later down the road. I definitely think that we are headed in the correct direction. For me, I had a very exciting, very happy experience overall and just being able to show up for my myself in ways. Ideally, hopefully, later down the road that that will already be in place and people won’t have to advocate, but I’m honored to have the space to advocate and to just be heard. That in itself is a huge win, and I’m excited for what’s to come.
There has been discussion about The Bachelor having had a lot of white leads [including one Black star over 27 seasons]. Is that on your mind in terms of who the Bachelor could be after your season?
Absolutely. You guys all see my cast is extremely diverse. It could be more diverse, but like I said, we’re headed in the right direction, making strides. There’s a lot of Black men, men of color, Asian men — there is so much representation this season. There has historically been representation of a lot of white leads, but with how things go this season, it’s again something that I’m hopeful for that we could possibly continue to include that diversity aspect of it and maybe switch things up a little bit.
Promos for your season tease the possibility of you having strong feelings for two men. Is there an aspect of your journey that might surprise fans the most?
Everyone needs to have their seat belts on for fantasy suite week. It’s gonna be fun. (Laughs.) I won’t give away too much. As you progress through the season, connections form, and feelings are deepened. There’s gonna be some twists and turns, for sure, that I personally didn’t even see coming.
Now that you’re a bit removed removed from filming, was the experience different than you were anticipating, or are there things you might have handled differently?
There’s nothing that I would change because if I were to go back and change anything, it would obviously change the outcome of this whole journey for me. I’m happy with the outcome, for sure. Just looking back on everything, it’s definitely an adjustment to watch it all back and watch it unfold. I know [what happens], but I’m also watching it in real time with the rest of the world, and I don’t really know how things are gonna be placed together. That part has been a little overwhelming at times. But overall, my excitement level is still so great, and the reaction from viewers and fans has been phenomenal. So that’s also been an extra element that has supported me as I just navigate this period.
Does it feel surprising to you that we haven’t had a successful Bachelorette couple in a while?
It’s always surprising to hear that because it makes you question. It makes you wonder, why doesn’t that work out? But if anything, knowing that ahead of time before I started my journey, it added extra fuel and motivation for me to be just 10 times more intentional with everything. I can’t really speak on everyone else’s journeys beforehand if their relationships didn’t work out. But for me, I was like, “I want this, and I know that I am here for a reason, and I’m not looking for just a relationship.” I’m looking for my potential husband and the future father of my kids.
I want to make sure that I’m exploring every single relationship and getting that entire process out as much as I can, in order to truly, hopefully meet the person that’s for me. Just knowing that statistic, you don’t really know what to expect. But overall, I will say it has helped me become a little bit more intentional.
What can you tease about the next episode?
We have a very, very fun group date. It’s gonna be super cute, super exciting. It’s something that maybe we haven’t really seen before in Bachelor history. But then obviously, we know some things hit the fan, so we’ll see what the outcome is of whether or not that rose gets clipped off.
Have you had to stand up for yourself a bit more than you expected?
I’m easing into things. It’s only episode two, but [in] episode three, I’m like, “OK, this is a lot more serious, and I have to do things and take the reins here.”
Interview edited for length and clarity.
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on ABC.
