Catherine Giudici Reflects on Being 'One of the Faces That Represented People of Color' on The Bachelor
Catherine Giudici Lowe was not expecting to capture the heart of her now-husband and then-Bachelor Sean Lowe.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, the mother of three, 34, reflected on her time on The Bachelor, admitting that she felt the only reason she was chosen for the show was to include diversity in the cast.
"When I was originally cast, I was very flattered but somewhat grounded by the fact that I would be one of the faces that represented people of color. I knew that one of the reasons I was probably chosen was because I was Filipino," Giudici Lowe began her post.
She also revealed that she "counted myself out to be his fiancée because of what I assumed Sean liked."
"I thought I was there just to check a box, but I ended up with so much more," she said. "I became present with the process and as he started noticing me for who I really was, I allowed this experience to open myself up to the possibility of being fully loved and appreciated for all that I was. I ended up getting to represent a mixed race community, I found Christ (I LOVE my testimony!) and marrying the most amazing man I’ve ever known. I’d say doing this show was one of the best things that ever happened to me.❤️"
Giudici Lowe, whose father is of Swiss-Italian and Scottish descent and mother is a Filipino-American, was cast in the 17th season of The Bachelor, winning over the heart of her now-husband.
The couple married in 2014 and have since welcomed three children together, baby Mia, 5 months, and sons Isaiah Hendrix, 2, and Samuel Thomas, 3½.
A post shared by Catherine (Giudici) Lowe (@catherinegiudici) on Jun 7, 2020 at 9:30am PDT
ABC will re-air the couple's season in a condensed three-hour episode on Monday.
Giudici Lowe ended her post with an encouraging message to her fans, "Don’t count yourself out. You are destined to do bigger things than just check a box."
While Giudici Lowe fondly recalled her time with the franchise, another contestant, Rachel Lindsay, recently expressed her disappointment in the reality TV show for their lack of diversity.
During a recent interview with AfterBuzz — in the wake of the killing of George Floyd — Lindsay, who is the first and only black lead in the history of the ABC franchise, revealed that she would not want to continue in the franchise if changes aren't made.
"When you're putting out something that is very whitewashed and doesn't have any type of color in it and you're not trying to be effective and change that... I think that they have to at this point, give us a black Bachelor for season 25," she said.
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic Rachel Lindsay
"I don't know how you don't," Lindsay, 34, continued. "It's been asked of me will I continue in this franchise if it continues this way, I can't. I have to see some type of change."
Lindsay went on to explain that she's embarrassed to be a part of a community with very few faces of color. "It's ridiculous. It's embarrassing. At this point it's embarrassing to be affiliated with it," she added.
And this isn't the first time Lindsay has been openly critical of The Bachelor franchise, previously saying that it "doesn't reflect the real world."
In an interview with the Associated Press, conducted on Sept. 9 and published after the Women Tell All special, Lindsay said that she thinks “diversity” is currently the franchise’s biggest problem. “My biggest thing, and I almost feel like it’s a responsibility for me being their only lead of color, to step out and speak about that,” said Lindsay — who married her season's winner, Bryan Abasolo, in August 2019. “If I could change one thing, it’s the show doesn’t reflect the real world.”
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