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Bryan Abasolo provided evidence in response to Rachel Lindsay’s recent filing in court.
According to court documents obtained by People, the 44-year-old chiropractor refutes the claims that his estranged wife, 39, was “surprised or shocked” by his decision to file for divorce after four years of marriage.
After the former Bachelorette lead claimed in her response to his filing that she discovered he filed to terminate their marriage “via text message” 30 minutes after he left their shared home in late June, Abasolo said that Lindsay “fails to disclose” that he texted her his intentions to divorce.
“Rachel, walking in to the room because I didn’t reply to your text per your timeline then raise your voice for not getting the immediate answer you want is the kind of one-sided controlling aspects of our relationship which has brought us to this point,” he said in the text message. “My inability to communicate, as you’ve called it, is to prevent these kinds of reactions. It often feels like you must have what you want without considering any state of mind I’m in.”
He added, “I’m sorry for not replying to your text but honestly, I don’t really want to be on the receiving end of your wordsmithing anymore. I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to. I want to regain some aspect of my self-respect back.”
“Please, let’s keep future communications in writing (written down on paper, email, text) to prevent any additional friction as we move to the next step,” he concluded the text. “We can speak in the future in the presence of a neutral party or something. Right now, I just can’t do it. I haven’t been able to for a while. Respectfully. Good night.”
In a since-deleted Instagram post, Abasolo announced that he and Lindsay were separating shortly after filing for divorce on 2 January.
“After more than 4 years of marriage, Rachel and I have made the difficult decision to part ways and start anew,” he wrote at the time. “My parents have been married forever and I’m a family man, but sometimes loving yourself and your partner means you must let go. I wanted you to hear it from the source before the blogs start making up their own reality.”
“Please respect the spaces of our family and friends as we figure out our next steps,” he concluded. “Respectfully, Bryan.”
Abasolo met and got engaged to Lindsay during her season of The Bachelorette in 2017. Two years later, the pair tied the knot in August 2019. They share no children.
Lindsay first became a part of The Bachelor franchise when she competed for lead Nick Viall's heart on Season 21 of The Bachelor. She was later announced as the franchise’s first Black Bachelorette lead in 2017 and at the time, became the first Black lead in the franchise’s history.
