‘Bachelor’ Alum Bekah Martinez Says Tayshia Adams’ ‘Bachelorette’ Season Is ‘Big Step’ for the Franchise (Exclusive)

Bekah Martinez is looking forward to the future of Bachelor Nation and the planet! The Bachelor alum first made waves on Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s season of the ABC dating show, but thinks Tayshia Adams’ season of The Bachelorette has been a “big step” for the franchise in terms of the kind of conversations being shown on screen and the suitors being cast.

“I love [Tayshia], I think she’s fantastic,” the Chatty Broads host told PopCulture while promoting her Charlie Banana partnership. “She’s bold; she’s smart; she’s very deliberate and intentional with the ways she’s interacted with the guys.” Having originally been cast for Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette before the lead got engaged to suitor Dale Moss just three weeks in, prompting Adams’ entrance as the star, Martinez noted that the men of this season are a “big step towards maturity.”

“I feel like so many of these conversations are unprecedented,” the mother of two continued, noting conversations between Adams and her suitors about race and the Black Lives Matter movement, substance abuse, divorce and mental health struggles. “It is sort of impressive for the franchise, because they’ve set the bar so far down,” she quipped, noting that it comes as no surprise to her that a much more diverse cast has brought about a shift in the kind of conversations being had.

While she stays up on Bachelor Nation and would be happy to come back as a guest star in the future, Martinez is staying busy right now as the mom to two young children — daughter Ruth, 22 months, and son Franklin, 5 months — whom she shares with boyfriend Grayston Leonard.

“I feel like I really got more interested in sustainability and environmental issues when I started having kids,” Martinez explained of her focus on sustainability when it comes to motherhood, a subject she frequently shares about on her Instagram. “First off, it gave me anxiety,” she said with a laugh, explaining that she’s dedicated to improving her family’s footprint on this earth however she can.

Cloth diapering with Charlie Banana products has been a big part of that, Martinez said, adding that her only “regret” is not starting to use them earlier. While switching over to cloth diapers or incorporating them in your routine might seem “daunting,” she noted that for anyone with access to a washing machine, it’s an easy way to “immediately improve your sustainability as a family.”