Shutting it down. Bachelorette alum Tayshia Adams responded to split rumors surrounding her and fiancé Zac Clark on Monday, March 15, six months after the reality TV couple got engaged during season 16.
Breakup speculation started when eagle-eyed fans noticed Zac’s mom unfollowed Tayshia on Instagram. In addition, the “Clickbait” podcast host was spotted not wearing her Neil Lane engagement ring on social media.
“Not gonna lie, I don’t like getting DMs putting this weird energy into the universe LOL,” the California native wrote on her Instagram Story. “I love that there’s so much love [and] support around our relationship, but please don’t put unnecessary rumors/pressure on us.”
The reality babe noted her engagement ring was currently getting “properly sized” and “cleaned,” which is why it’s been absent from her finger. “Now that that is cleared up, let’s keep putting out positive energy as we head into this week,” she added.
Tayshia, 30, and Zac, 37, met halfway through season 16. In July, Life & Style exclusively broke the news Bachelorette Clare Crawley, who was initially cast as the leading lady, was engaged to Dale Moss. The Sacramento native, 39, had “fallen in love” with the contestant, 32, just 12 days into filming. Clare and Dale left as an engaged couple, and Tayshia stepped in to finish out the season shortly after.
Luckily, Zac stuck around after Clare’s exit because he and Tayshia fell head over heels for each other.
“I came here because I was supposed to be here, and I came here because I was supposed to fall in love with you,” the New Jersey native told Tayshia while popping the question.
Following their engagement, the former Bachelor in Paradise star moved from her home state of California into Zac’s New York City apartment. The couple sounded happily in love when they talked about their wedding plans during a joint interview with Marie Claire in February 2021.
“At first, Zac was the person to be like, ‘We could get married next week.’ And I was like, ‘Slow your roll.’ I’d love to date a year,” the former Bachelor contestant from Colton Underwood’s season said at the time. “And now I’m like, ‘You want to … maybe next month?’ And he’s like, ‘Tayshia, slow your roll.’ We’re back and forth. But there’s no timeline. It’s definitely going to happen. I just don’t know when.”
Zac divulged on Good Morning America in December 2020 that he definitely wanted a “big wedding” someday. “She might think differently, and she’s gonna get what she wants. But I wanna date you. You know? I wanna date you and take you out and all those things,” he continued, while noting they had “a lot of fun plans coming up.”
That being said, Tayshia has very big things happening in her career. She and Kaitlyn Bristowe will be hosting season 17 of The Bachelorette after Chris Harrison’s announcement that he is stepping back from the reality franchise following his statements about Matt James’ contestant Rachael Kirkconnell’s social media controversy.
“As we continue the dialogue around achieving greater equality and inclusion within The Bachelor franchise, we are dedicated to improving the BIPOC representation of our crew, including among the executive producer ranks,” ABC wrote in a statement about the host change-up on March 12. “These are important steps in effecting fundamental change so that our franchise is a celebration of love that is reflective of our world.”
It looks like the future is bright for Tayshia and Zac!