Rachel Recchia Is A Pisces Girl For The People

Rachel Recchia and I are bonding over our missing fake nails. “Rachel,” I tell her over Zoom from our respective bedrooms, “I’m literally missing a nail right now. I’m not even joking.” If you’ve been watching Recchia on TV since Clayton Echard’s season of The Bachelor in 2022, you might remember one very specific motif: her crying on the stairs during the “rose ceremony from hell,” one nail notably absent from her long, almond-shaped manicure. “Iconic,” she says in response, and points to the wall behind her. “I have that photo of me missing a nail right here.”

Recchia loves to laugh at herself, which is one reason the 27-year-old has become so beloved by Bachelor fans during her three appearances on the franchise. After finishing in Echard’s final three, she and Gabby Windey were named joint Bachelorette leads that summer. Recchia left her season engaged, but that relationship didn’t work out — there was, once again, lots of crying.

So in August 2023, when it was announced that Recchia would appear on Bachelor in Paradise’s ninth season, viewers were surprised and excited to see her on another show. She celebrated the news by posting a carousel of crying photos, saying she was “completing the holy trinity of tears.”

And though she left this season of Paradise single, Recchia is still super happy she did it. Below, the pilot from Florida tells Elite Daily about a funny moment that didn’t get aired, what it was like to spend so much time with her exes, and why she’s a Pisces through and through.

Elite Daily: Bachelor in Paradise was your third Bachelor Nation show. Why did you decide to go to the beach this summer?

Rachel Recchia: I made my decision after talking to Becca Kufrin, who had been a Bachelorette and went to Paradise after her season. Paradise has so many success stories, like Joe [Amabile] and Serena [Pitt]. It’s a really good environment for love, so I knew if it had worked for me on the other two shows, there was a huge possibility it would work for me there.

ED: A lot of your exes ended up being there, including Aven Jones and Tyler Norris. Was that weird or nerve-racking for you?

RR: It wasn’t weird. I have actually a really good relationship with all of my exes who were there, so it was so nice to watch them get a second chance because they deserved it. If anything, I was grateful to do this whole thing with them one more time, and it was a lot of fun.

ED: One specific example is your close friendship with Tyler, which was surprising considering how sad your Bachelorette breakup was. How were you able to get on such great terms with your exes?

RR: I never would’ve thought I would be a person who’s such good friends with all my exes, but we’re always in the same environment, being in Bachelor Nation. Having them as friends, even after a really messy ending, is a beautiful thing. I have a good friendship with Clayton [Echard] even after all that happened there, so it’s possible if you just give it a chance.

ED: You took absolutely no sh*t from men on Paradise this season and weren’t afraid to call them out. What’s the worst situation you had to deal with?

RR: The one time I was really frustrated was the Sean situation. I had been so adamant that he explored connections, saying, “Please talk to Jess,” and I felt like we were being open with each other. Then all of a sudden I heard him saying other things [behind my back]. Why would you say that after we had this conversation? That was a little difficult, but I don’t feel like I had too much of a hard time with anything else.

I’m romantic. I’m going to cry, and I’m going to be delusional, and that’s what I can guarantee.

ED: Fans thought you and Brayden Bowers were a surprisingly cute couple, even if that didn’t work out. What drew you to him and why do you think you had so much fun together?

RR: I really was lucky because I didn’t get to see Charity [Lawson]’s season, so I didn’t have any preconceived notion of Brayden. He was with Kat [Izzo] right off the bat, and we were good friends, and I think that’s probably where all that fun came from — we were able to be friends before we started dating. He was so fun and easy to get along with, so it was kind of the perfect date for both of us.

ED: As we saw in the Nov. 30 episode, you chose to leave this season by yourself and forfeit your rose. Yet even as you were leaving, you said you were so glad you chose to do the show. What’s the biggest thing you took away from Paradise?

RR: I learned so much from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, but I came to Paradise having done the work on myself, and I gave it everything I had. Paradise was the first time I was able to walk away from a situation that I knew wasn’t serving me. If you watched my Bachelor season, where I was begging not to be put in a car, eyelashes everywhere, you realize this was such a big moment for me.

When I left, I took in what had just happened and was thankful for it. Even though I left alone, I have so many incredible memories and friends.

ED: Is there anything from this season that didn’t get shown that you wish had made the cut?

RR: So many funny stories and things that happen don’t get aired. I didn’t get to see this, but one night in the boys’ room, this raccoon-like animal was sitting on Brayden’s chest. He woke up and it was sitting on him and they were all screaming, and it would’ve been hilarious if we had some hidden footage.

ED: You’re a Pisces. Do you think your zodiac sign plays into the way you date?

RR: Absolutely. First of all, I live in my own fantasy love world where I think I’m going to fall in love every time I go anywhere. When people were saying “Oh, you’re back on another show?” I’m like, yeah, because I’m obviously going to fall in love. I’m romantic. I’m going to cry about it, and I’m going to be delusional, and that’s what I can guarantee.

ED: Delusional girl representation.

RR: I’m doing the work out here.

ED: I know fans will miss you on the franchise. Can you share any details about what we’ll see next from you?

RR: Hopefully they have some way for me and Gabby to come back and visit, and stay in the Bachelor Nation world as guests. I’ve completed the trinity now, so who knows what’s next.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.