Sexual Assault Survivors on 'The Bachelor' Sharing Caelynn Miller-Keyes' Story

Anna, 25, a sexual assault survivor who asked Glamour to withhold her name for privacy reasons, said she “couldn’t breathe” while watching Caelynn tell her story. Like the Bachelor contestant, Anna woke up after a party with no memory of the previous night’s events but later had flashbacks of being assaulted by a coworker. “I never got a rape kit done, and I still have no solid conclusion as to what happened that night,” she says. “I fell into a deep depression for a couple years, but I've been able to slowly come out of it more recently.”

For Anna, watching Caelynn’s story was a reminder of the strength she is also capable of. “[Caelynn] was so brave and steady throughout the entire retelling. I honestly feel like I needed to watch her tell her story," she says. "I feel like her level of self-awareness and self-assuredness is going to help me open up to more people in the future.”

Anna wasn’t the only person who saw herself in Caelynn. While watching Monday’s episode, Rebecca, a 26-year-old survivor, thought, That’s me. After her own assault she shared Caelynn’s fear of being touched on the shoulder—even in an “innocent” manner. “I saw my story reflected in a fellow survivor in a way you don’t really see these days on TV, especially from this show,” she says.

It wasn’t just Caelynn’s words that resonated with survivors; Colton’s reaction was important too. “I think he handled Caelynn's story with a great deal of grace and empathy,” says Kate, 25, who was assaulted during the first weekend of her sophomore year in college. “I'm not sure how I feel about him bringing up his ex's story…but ultimately I think he did a good job of not making [her] story all about him, while fairly acknowledging that it can be difficult for caregivers and loved ones to cope along with survivors.”

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