Chris who?
Former “Bachelor” contestant Becca Tilley told The Cut that she’s never been “ashamed” of her relationship with singer Hayley Kiyoko at any point in the duo’s four-year romance, though she didn’t publicly come out and reveal their relationship until this past May.
“It might be a fine line, but I don’t want anyone to think I was ashamed or embarrassed,” she said, as quoted in the just-published profile. “That was really important to me.”
The Cut’s Katie Heaney, who penned the feature, recounts how Tilley, 33, “didn’t exactly keep Kiyoko hidden away,” with both making frequent appearances on the other’s Instagram feeds over the years. The two reportedly met at a party in 2018.
Tilley also claimed that she’s always introduced Kiyoko, 31, as her “‘girlfriend’” to friends and family — and even real-life fans of the “Bachelor” alum’s “Scrubbing In” podcast.
“When we’re walking around, we’re holding hands,” Tilley described to the pub. “If I meet someone who’s a podcast listener, I’m like, ‘This is my girlfriend, Hayley.’ It’s never been, ‘This is my friend.’”
Despite this, the reality of their relationship — that is, as being non-platonic — still seemed lost on much of the broader viewership of “The Bachelor” and its many spinoffs, with Heaney bitingly characterizing the iconic reality TV franchise as a “prominent heterosexual propaganda machine.”
Among “Bachelor” fans, Tilley is best known as the runner-up choice of Season 19’s “Bachelor” Chris Soules.
The San Diego native went on to explain how, even when she’d post on Instagram about visiting Kiyoko on tour, “People just thought I was great friends with Hayley.
“Huge fan,” she added.
