Dallas lawyer US’ first black ‘ Bachelorette’

A Dallas attorney made history in US light entertainment on Monday night when she graced the small screen as the US’ first black contestant on the long- running reality dating show The Bachelorette.

Stunning 32- year- old Rachel Lindsay first appeared on the ABC franchise as a woman vying for the affections of a white man on parent show The Bachelor when a male lead dates women concurrently in the hope of finding a “soul mate.”

Lindsay fell for Nick Viall and made it to the final three, but was dumped after a date in Lapland. Yet she was such a hit with viewers that producers approached her to star in The Bachelorette version of the show.

Now the tables have turned and 31 men are competing for Lindsay’s affections.

The franchise has been under fire for years for lack of diversity and never previously starring a black lead in 33 combined seasons, selecting mostly white people to look for love.

“When I was first approached I couldn’t believe it, but I was also very nervous, because to be the first at anything that’s terrifying,” Lindsay told National Public Radio in an interview that aired on Monday.

“Just the pros outweighed the cons.”

Apparently it worked. The Texan lawyer says she is now happily engaged, though she is not at liberty to reveal any details for risk of spoiling viewers’ suspense.

“I’m a 100 percent in love,” she told NPR.

The men looking for love are 26 to 37 years old, including doctors, lawyers, a professional wrestler and a secret admirer who has had a crush on her since childhood, ABC television says.