It is the end of an era for the Bachelor franchise.
Rachel Lindsay has been a powerful voice among the Bachelor Fam, helping to herald long overdue changes.
But her time as an official, contractual part of the franchise is at an end.
After months of hateful campaigns against her, she is stepping back.
Rachel Lindsay has done 99 episodes of The Bachelor Happy Hour podcast together.
On that ninety-ninth episode, Rachel shared that her centennial episode will also be her last.
"I’m going to make this short and sweet," the 36-year-old fan favorite announced.
"All good things must come to an end," Rachel Lindsay acknowledged.
"And I feel like certain things run their course," she expressed.
"And for me," Rachel shared, "I have run my course when it comes to the podcast."
"You know we started off this podcast talking about how much fun it is, and it is," Rachel affirmed.
"And the community that we’ve started," she added.
"And," Rachel pointed out, "we’re already here with 100 episodes."
"And I’m proud of it and what it’s become," Rachel emphasized.
"And," she acknowledged, "it started off with Ali who’s fantastic — I feel like I don’t give her enough praise,"
Rachel was of course referring to Ali Fedotowsky, her original co-host.
"Then Ali had to go," Rachel recalled.
She continued, addressing friend and co-host Becca Kufrin: "And you came in and you like didn’t miss a beat."
"And that’s been a lot of fun," Rachel emphasized, "to see our friendship grow through the podcast."
Rachel noted that it was fun "just to have fun with all the new blood that’s coming in from the show."
"To work through hard moments," she added.
Rachel noted: "To come here and vent when we’re going through something like that’s what the podcast gives you, that community."
"But for me I’ve been struggling, that’s no secret," Rachel acknowledged.
"And it’s been really, really hard for me lately," she admitted.
"And a lot of the things that we talk about on this podcast are also about taking care of yourself," Rachel pointed out.
Rachel continued: "And finding your peace and protecting that peace and protecting your mental health."
"And so for me," she reasoned, "I just feel like I’ve come to the end of doing the podcast."
"And I’m glad that I’m leaving on a high note where it’s the 100th episode," Rachel emphasized.
Rachel highlighted that "it’s such a big milestone."
"This is the first podcast I’ve ever done," she added.
"And for me," Rachel said, "it’s just stepping away."
"You should never say never," Rachel expressed.
"I’m definitely closing the door but I’m not locking it and throwing away the key," she characterized.
"It’s just I have to, for me, walk away," Rachel explained.
"And I feel like this podcast is in amazing hands with you," Rachel said in praise to Becca.
"For you, I just feel like this is at a place where I can walk away," she shared.
"And," Rachel told her friend, "I know it’s all good and I know it’s gonna be great."
"And you’ve allowed me to have the space to step away when I needed to," Rachel pointed out.
"And I would listen to the podcast on the side," she recalled.
"And," Rachel reasoned, "I’m like, ‘Oh, she’s got this.’"
"And like, for me it’s like you can walk away now, I can walk away," Rachel explained.
"I’m doing some other things," she teased.
Rachel suggested: "I’m sure I’ll pop in from time to time to say hello."
"It’s just time," Rachel added later.
"It’s just time for me to move on," she continued.
Rachel emphasized: "And I will be supporting you from a distance."
"I just want to say thank you guys for riding with me for such a long time," Rachel told listeners.
She asked her fans to "continue to ride with Becca support her uplift her, and this podcast as well."
This is when Becca took her turn to give a tribute to her friend and co-host.
"Rachel, I’m gonna save a lot of my sentiments for next week," Becca told her.
She explained: "because you’re not done with me yet."
"I’ve still got you for one more episode," Becca said, "but I absolutely love you."
‘I’m in awe of you," Becca proclaimed. "I’m inspired by you."
She praised Rachel for "your loyalty, your friendship, your charisma, all of the things."
"You’ve brought so much to this not only to the podcast but to our friendship," Becca gushed.
"And so I know you say you’re not going to lock the door," Becca told her friend, "and I hope you don’t."
"I always will welcome you back with open arms," she stressed.
Becca acknowledged "it’s not going to be the same without you."
"And you know, selfishly, I don’t want you to leave," Becca told Rachel.
"But I totally understand I know for your mental health, for your sanity, and your sake in your head and in your heart," she added.
Becca emphasized: "I will always be your biggest supporter in anything that you do in any way shape or form, anything that you need from me."
"I’m gonna miss you too," Rachel admitted.
"I’m not gonna throw away the key but I’m sure as hell gonna lose it for a while," she reiterated.
Rachel, who was the targeted of coordinated and racist hate campaigns, understated: "I need a change of scenery."