April 20, 2021 • bachelor insider
Zac Clark Talks Dating While Sober and Telling Tayshia Adams About His Past Struggles
Zac Clark stopped by “Talking It Out” to chat with co-hosts Mike Johnson and Bryan Abasolo about his experience with addiction.
During his interview, the beloved star of “The Bachelorette” Season 16 explained what it’s like to date while sober. Zac — who now works as an addiction specialist — has been clean since August 2011, after completing a second and successful round of rehab at Pennsylvania’s Caron Treatment Center.
“For me, I’m kind of screwed out the gate because I sit down and it’s like, ‘What do you do for work?’” joked Zac, who founded his own New York-based treatment center, Release Recovery, in 2017.
“Then the waiter comes, and I order a club soda. And then they’re like, ‘All right, what’s going on here?’ So I’m screwed,” he continued. “But what I came to realize and, again, this does not pertain just to drinking — but if this person sitting across from me is going to judge me because I don’t drink, then I’m out anyway.”
The handsome New Jersey native added, “If someone’s going to be that judgmental, which we see all the time in this world, then ‘Peace.’ I’m onto the next one.”
Elsewhere, Zac reflected on the moment he told now-fiancée Tayshia Adams about his past struggles. As viewers will recall, the stunning franchise lead only fell harder for Zac after he shared his truth with her.
“It was our first one-on-one and it was our night portion of the date and there was somewhat of a buildup to that moment,” he recounted. “And I just remember fielding some questions from the other guys and maybe some producers about the [assumed] fear.”
However, Zac clarified that he only felt excitement about talking to Tayshia about his recovery — regardless of her reaction. “I like myself. That’s just the truth,” he said. “I like myself, so f--k, that’s it.”
Listen to the latest edition of “Talking It Out with Mike & Bryan” below.
