Quotes from Rachel Lindsay

I don't shop a whole lot. But when I shop, I shop!

I'm just like, 'Give me all the babies. If we can't have them, we're adopting.'

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. I don't know how you don't.

To be the first to do something is huge - all eyes are on you. You just don't know how people are going to judge you.

I do think I can change the perception of the 'Bachelorette.' And not just because of my race.

It was actually harder for me to decide if I wanted to move forward as 'The Bachelorette' than it was to decide to be a contestant on 'The Bachelor.' I knew I'd have to ask off work a second time, and I waited until the last minute to talk to my boss about it.

I'm a sucker for a great smile.

Especially as a woman, the jury sums you up immediately and is listening to everything you're saying. You have to be on your game all the time, and that prepares you for being in front of the camera. The difference is, when I am in front of a jury, I am not talking about my emotions and my life.

I use the petroleum jelly on my lips because they get very dry and it's truly the only thing that works.

I'm very excited to be partnering with Vaseline because I've been a fan for years. It's products I grew up with - my mom always used them on us - and now, I use it all, from the petroleum jelly to the lip gloss and lotion.

Instead of imposing narrow and arbitrary definitions of Blackness on one another and alienating those who do not measure up, create spaces that allow people to be Black in their own way so they can contribute to our collective advancement.

Assess the rightness of a potential partner on his own terms and not just by comparing him to the ones before him - especially if they broke your heart.

Don't try to be someone you're not at the beginning of a relationship. Know who you are, accept and love yourself unconditionally -

I'm not just a Strong Black Woman; I'm a Real Human Being with strengths and vulnerabilities, hopes and fears, standards and contradictions.

Checklists and plans are useful tools as long as we use them as guides and not rulebooks. As we journey through life, we are supposed to change and so should our goals.

To everything else, I say, Miss me with that.

The Bachelor is in charge of saying what they're interested in and what they're not. Some people don't know that - they do ask you.

I majored in sports and went to law school and focused in sports law, so I always knew I wanted to do ESPN but thought it would be behind the camera. After doing 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelorette,' the media circuit, I thought, you know what - I want to talk about it!

I feel very indebted to my job. I support the loyalty that they've given me - it's very rare, especially in my profession, that you find people who are not just supportive of who you are as a person, but supportive of you finding love and your happiness.

My dad is very supportive about me being the Bachelorette. He realizes what an amazing experience it is.

When I was approached to be the 'Bachelorette,' I was like, 'Uh, no. I don't think I can do this again.' It was conversations that I had with people that said, 'I'm so happy to see a Black woman represented well in a franchise, or 'I'm watching this show again because you did it,' that renewed my wanting to be part of this franchise.

Any date that requires you to don a plastic poncho while inside an establishment with a liquor license is going to be incredible.

If the National Football League, an organization notoriously known for not standing behind their athletes of color, can come out to make a statement to condemn racism and their systemic oppression and admit they were wrong for not listening in the past, then the 'Bachelor' franchise can most certainly follow suit.

I like when a guy wears ripped jeans, has a loose-fitting V-neck top and has a pair of kicks. You can't go wrong with a suit either.