How Kaitlyn Bristowe & Tayshia Adams Help Michelle Young Spot Red Flags on ‘Bachelorette’

The Bachelorette –Tayshia Adams, Michelle Young, Kaitlyn Bristowe
Preview
ABC/Craig Sjodin

Michelle Young won’t have to look far to get a fellow female’s perspective as she embarks on a journey to find a husband on Season 18 of The Bachelorette. Former Bachelorette leads Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe are returning to the show as hosts once more. Both women feel that their unique perspectives will only be a plus in helping Young make her choice — not that she needs much assistance!

“Michelle’s not looking for someone to complete her,” Adams told TV Insider at a screening of the October 19 premiere. “She’s the whole package.”

“The beautiful thing about Michelle is that she knows she’s the full package,” Bristowe adds. “She’s got everything. She’s solid in who she is and she’s ready to have someone come in and amplify that.”

Bristowe feels that having been a Bachelorette herself, she’s ideally cast as not only one of the reality show’s hosts but also as someone who can help guide Young as she makes one of the most important decisions of her life.

“I don’t think I could show up as a mentor and host if I hadn’t done it myself in the first place,” Bristowe muses. “It’s so much more genuine to speak from a place of truly having been there. I’ve been in Michelle’s shoes.”

Bristowe hastens to add that, of course, situations will be different, but she feels she knows what every Bachelorette needs to have in terms of her mindset. “It’s OK to fall in love with more than one person at a time,” she says. “I know that feels wrong, but just surrender to the process. That’s the way it’s going to work. Tayshia and I can help her get there.”

“Two is always better than one,” Adams points out. “We provide different perspectives and we play off each other well.”

ABC/JC Olivera

As seen in a sneak peek of Young’s season, Bristowe and Adams check out a contender’s room to see how orderly he is. Along with finding out if his socks match, they find a Machiavellian playbook detailing how the contender can start collecting as many roses as possible.

Learning about the playbook begs the question, which was worse: having the playbook at all or being so foolish as to leave it behind to be discovered?

“He shouldn’t have had it in the first place and have it out on the table,” Bristowe says.

“He wasn’t that smart about hiding it,” adds Adams. “But it shouldn’t have been a thing at all. Just be authentic and be yourself.”

“Maybe have a journal, but not a calculated document on what to do,” Bristowe says.

“There were graphs and an Excel sheet!” Adams exclaims.

But how will Young and her suitors reconcile finding true love with the reality that the show’s producers have an entire season to construct? “Oh, gosh, that’s the hardest thing to do,” Bristowe says. “That’s why Michelle is so great. She could separate the two. She knew she had to make a TV show, but I feel she was also able to say goodbye very quickly to anyone who wasn’t there for her.”

“I feel like she knew how to weed [people] out,” Adams agrees. “She’d see a red flag and she handled the relationship the best that she could and she was very level-headed.”

Could Adams see herself following in Bristowe’s footsteps as a celebrity contender on Dancing With the Stars, just as Young has followed theirs as the Bachelorette?

Not only would Adams love to compete on the show, but she’d also keep Bristowe’s number on speed dial as she and pro partner Artem Chigvintsev took home the coveted mirror ball trophy in Season 29.

“Absolutely!” Adams enthuses. “I have the most amazing mentor standing right next to me.”

“I’ll give you foot baths and rub your toes!” chuckles Bristowe.

The Bachelorette, Season Premiere, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 8/7c, ABC