Tayshia Adams Opens Up About Getting Filler For The First Time

Tayshia Adams won the heart of Bachelor Nation twice over. Fans will recall first meeting the now-30-year-old California native on Colton Underwood's season of The Bachelor; later, we saw her in the middle of a love triangle on the beach in the spinoff Bachelor in Paradise. Through her time on TV, viewers fell for Adams' mega-watt smile and her bubbly personality — and now, she's the rumoured lead for this season of The Bachelorette.

In a recent Zoom interview, we sat down with the glowing star to chat about what it's like to be on camera, overcoming the "reality show" stigma, and her recent first-ever injectable treatment: lip fillers. Earlier this year, Adams was tapped as a brand ambassador for pharmaceutical company Allergan to speak about her personal experience with their product Juvéderm Volbella, a temporary lip-filler injection that the star got for the first time in December of 2019.

Now, 10 months later, Adams explains that her goal was simply to highlight her favourite physical feature. "I've never had a problem with my lips; in fact, I love my lips. I never wanted to change the size or shape, but I thought they could be a little more plump and hydrated," Adams tells us. "I started doing a ton of lip masks, but they didn't really work. Then, I asked my doctor a million and one questions about fillers and she recommended Juvéderm Volbella, which ended up being a great option for me because it's designed to just enhance your natural lips."

Opting for a subtle, semi-permanent option (Juvéderm generally lasts about a year), Adams says her experience has been a secret — until now. "I got the injection awhile ago, and since then, no one has noticed," she laughs. "I love that it looks so natural and doesn't require any real maintenance or upkeep. Even when I did share my experience with a few friends, they couldn't even tell. For me, it's like, exactly, that's what I want the response to be."

For Adams, as a public figure, the decision to talk openly about her injectable procedure wasn't an easy one. "At first, I struggled with being open about it," she says. "It's important for people to know that I love myself, and I didn't do it because I'm on TV or because I want to fit in or compare myself to others. It was just something I was interested in, it's not permanent — and honestly, it's just not that big of a deal."

Of course, Adams is speaking to the dated stigma surrounding cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery in general, which hits harder for a reality star. "I think there's a stigma that if you're on reality TV, you have to get work done — but I didn't, not up until recently," Adams explains. "This is the first thing I've ever had done. But I did just turn 30, and Botox is something I'm open to."

Because injectables are just a small cog in the wheel of a larger beauty routine, Adams says she's loyal to a few specific topical skin-care products. "I get hormonal acne around my period, so I had to do a lot of research to find the products that worked for me," she explains. "While digging on the internet, I kept seeing ads and reading good reviews about this Inkey List Salicylic Acid cleanser, but I thought, It's $10 (£10.99) there's no way it can actually work. Now, it's my favourite thing ever. That and SkinCeuticals Blemish & Age Prevent serum have made a huge difference in helping my hormonal acne."

In terms of makeup, Adams says she keeps it really simple. "On the day to day, I pretty much only use mascara and concealer," she explains. "Even on camera, I don't really wear too much, because I don't want to see foundation running down my face. Funny enough, I've never really been a huge highlighter person either, but there's this Huda palette that I like to use when I'm on camera because it helps accentuate by cheekbones and cupid's bow — because I really love my cupid's bow."

While we don't know for sure if and when we'll see Adams as The Bachelorette (more to come this Tuesday), she's definitely true to herself — a character trait that would, in fact, make her a great lead.