Rachel Lindsay Breaks Silence to Admit She's Taking It 'Day by Day' amid 'Difficult' Divorce from Bryan Abasolo

Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo met on 'The Bachelorette' in 2017 and tied the knot in 2019

Rachel Lindsay is still processing Bryan Abasolo's decision to file for divorce.

The former Bachelorette spoke on the end of her marriage at the start of Friday's episode of her podcast Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay.

"I didn't think I'd get emotional," she said, tearing up. "First off I just want to say thank you for people who reached out. I’m still trying to reply to people. You just never know how great your circle is until you see all the people that reach out and love you,” she said.

“Obviously it’s a difficult time — if you’ve read the headlines — and you’re probably wondering why I would even work. But to be honest with you, I need to distract myself from myself, and the best way to do that is to do something that I love, and I love Higher Learning.”

While Lindsay opted not to go into full detail, she promised, "I will eventually, but now is not the time, [I’m] just trying to take it day by day."

Lathan ended the conversation with a joke: "This is in reaction, obviously, this is to Texas losing in the college football playoff. I knew that that would affect you."

Related: Rachel Lindsay Says 2023 Was ‘One of the Hardest Years of My Life’ amid Divorce from Husband Bryan Abasolo

PEOPLE obtained documents confirming that Abasolo, 43, filed for divorce from Lindsay, 38, citing "irreconcilable differences" and listing Dec. 31 as the date of their separation.

He explained the decision on Instagram at the time: "After more than 4 years of marriage, Rachel and I have made the difficult decision to part ways and start anew. 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."

Ahead of her own statement, Lindsay reflected on 2023 in an Instagram post: “Definitely one of the hardest years of my life, but choosing to focus on grateful moments and carrying that energy into 2024. 💛”

Related: Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo's Relationship Timeline

Lindsay and Abasolo met on The Bachelorette in 2017 and married in 2019.

Though their relationship played out in the public eye, Lindsay set a public boundary and chose to stop sharing insight into her marriage online in the summer of 2022. “We met on a reality television show centered on finding love. The audience became invested in our story, our love, and our future,” she wrote in a blog post.

“So quite naturally, the audience wants to know what we are doing, if we are okay, and what is next for our future. They want the love story to still play out for their public perception. But our contractual public story, ended on August 7, 2017."

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Weeks before news of the pair’s split emerged, Lindsay admitted that she and her husband were living in “totally different places” during an appearance on Nick Viall’s The Viall Files podcast.

Explaining how their differing careers affect their relationship, Lindsay said in the Dec. 21 episode, “Bryan is a sole practitioner [and] he leaves the house at 8. He comes home at 9 o’clock, 9:30 [at night] sometimes. It’s just him by himself."

“Me, especially now that I’m not doing Extra, I have a lot more free time ... and then I’m back in hustle mode trying to get a second job, so I go to events," she continued. "So, we’re just in two totally different places.”

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