Becca Kufrin is reacting to the controversy surrounding her fiancé’s post about police.
Late last week, Garrett Yrigoyen made headlines after he took to Instagram and shared a photo of the “Thin Blue Line,” a symbol meant to show support for police officers.
“With so many friends and family in law enforcement I couldn’t sit back and not support them and the hundreds of thousands of men and women of all races that represent this Thin Blue Line as well,” he wrote in part. “It’s important for me to recognize the ones who stand in the gap and put their lives on the line each and every single day for humans of different race and ethnicity, including those who hate them.”
His post drew ire from numerous followers including Bachelor Nation members like Bekah Martinez and Nick Viall. But on Tuesday’s Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, Becca addressed the controversy for the first time.
“Garrett is my fiancé and I love him and to his core, I believe that he is a good person,” she shared. “I don’t align with and I don’t agree with” his social media post.
Becca continued, “I don’t think he meant it in a malicious way. I do think it was tone-deaf, and it was the wrong time and message and sentiment.”
Her co-host Rachel Lindsay, however, wanted to share her viewpoint and express her disappointment at the post.
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“To me, this is what Garrett thinks, this is what Garrett is. He posted a black box. He never said ‘black lives matter.’ He posted fists of every color, which to me is like, ‘Everybody, all lives.’ And then the very next post is the ‘thin blue line’ with a heartfelt, thought-out caption that he said with his chest,” Rachel explained. “And to me, that is what you feel, and that is what you believe. I don’t think Garrett is malicious, but Garrett is what the problem is.”
The conversation continued on Instagram when Becca posted a caption about today’s podcast episode.
“This conversation was the hardest, most uncomfortable, but important ones that we’ve had. I value my friendship with Rachel. I also value my partnership with Garrett. So this is really effing hard. As it should be. I will be the first to admit that listening to this back, I came up short. Very short,” she shared in part. “I listen to this & wish I had said more, wish I could have expressed myself better, wish I could have given so much more than I did. I think to myself ‘I didn’t ask the right questions,’ ‘I threw out the incorrect phrases,’ ‘I didn’t defend my fiancé,’ ‘why couldn’t I back up my thought process better?’ The list goes on & on.”
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Becca continued, “So where do I go from here? I can’t re-record this episode. I can’t go back & change my words (or lack there of). I can only try to move forward with what I believe is right, how to accept, be patient, & show care to others—especially for those who are hurting most right now.”
And just because the podcast episode is over, that doesn’t mean the conversations will stop.
On Tuesday’s iHeartRadio Almost Famous podcast, one of Garrett’s most vocal critics appeared on the show to address his Instagram statements.
“Did I say anything wrong? No,” Bekah shared with co-hosts Ben Higgins and Ashley Haibon when looking back at her reaction. “What bothered me so much about this post is the silence on Black Lives.”
To hear Becca and Rachel’s full conversation, stream the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast. And to hear more of Bekah’s perspective, listen to Almost Famous.
To learn how to take action and get involved with the Black Lives Matter movement, please click here.
