Intimate With Ivan: Will He Accept Our Rose?

Hapa Mag - MARCH 10, 2021

By Rebecca Lee Lerman & Bri Ng Schwartz

Diversity in The Bachelor/ette franchise has always been slim. With the exception of Rachel Lindsay — the first Black Bachelorette in 2017, as well as Bachelor Sean Lowe’s fiancé, Catherine Giudici in 2013 — most couples to come off of the show have been fairly homogenous.

This changed in 2020. This past season of The Bachelorette, we not only saw diversity in Clare Crawley’s final pick, Dale Moss, but in her replacement, Tayshia Adams, who is both Black and Mexican. One of Tayshia’s most memorable relationships was with runner up Ivan B. Hall. Ivan is an engineer, prison reform advocate, and finance buff from Texas. He made history as the first Blasian (Black and Filipino) contestant on the show and the first contestant to talk at length about the effects of #BlackLivesMatter on the country and his personal life. We had the pleasure of chatting with Ivan about his experience on the show, his mixed identity, and some of his favorite Filipino foods.

Bri: How do you think your presence has impacted viewers and mixed race/biracial contestants of The Bachelorette? Have you received any memorable messages from other mixed people who watch the show? 

Ivan: Being biracial, Black and Asian, I think it was able to show America what love stories can look like. Especially with my parents there. With my dad being Black and my mom being Asian from completely different parts of the world and being together 30+ years, people can see that we have genuine love in our family and genuine love for each other. 

From what I can tell I was the first Black and Asian person in the history of the show, and I think it will have an effect over time... hopefully. As far as messages go, I’ve gotten a lot of messages, there’s not one that sticks out particularly in my mind, but I do always smile whenever I see another Blasian person reach out. Because, you never know, there could be a teenage Blasian guy being like, “Man, that guy actually looks like me, and he’s on TV!” And he’s never seen that before so, you know, I think that’s pretty cool.

Rebecca: Former Bachelor Matt James has said he was afraid of backlash from different races depending on the race of the woman he chooses as his fiancé. If you were in his shoes, would you feel the same way? 

Ivan: No, I would say I wouldn’t. I personally would not be afraid at all. All you can do in that position is be yourself. At the end of the day it’s your life, and no one else should be able to control that. It’s your life, so make the decision that’s best for you.

I will say I do understand where his fear is coming from because you have to understand when you go into that position, you’re going to receive hate no matter what you do. That comes with the territory. So I’d be like, “There’s not much I can do about it. Just gotta be true to myself, and people are going to have to accept it at the end of the day.”

Rebecca: I feel that the diversity on the show is the best it’s ever been after your season. How do you feel Bachelor Nation is doing in terms of diversity and inclusion? Where do you think there is room to grow?

Ivan: The racial diversity is improving, but it’s not where it should be. On my season, Joe Park was the only full Asian, and I don’t think there was even one Hispanic guy. I think there also needs to be more diversity behind the scenes. That will have a ripple effect on what is being shown on TV. Finally, I’d like to see more religious diversity from the lead perspective, as past leads have been overwhelmingly Christian.

Bri: Would you consider being the first Blasian Bachelor if given the opportunity?

Ivan: Yeah, I mean if I find myself single and they call me up, I’d definitely consider it and have talks with them. I think it would be a great opportunity to find love and do a lot with my life. It’s also very humbling because, going into it, I had zero thoughts about ever being the Bachelor. Like at all. Especially, you know, being an oddball in a lot of ways. So it’s just so funny that it’s coming up now. But yeah, I had a great experience from top to bottom in The Bachelorette season. Production was great, everyone working there was great, so I’d definitely have to consider that. 

Rebecca: Nice! That’s really good that you had such a positive experience.

Ivan: Yeah. That was one thing I was definitely nervous about because some people say bad things, or you have to worry about your edit, but overall I was as happy as I could be.

Rebecca: That’s really good.

Ivan: Yeah, I got lucky.

Rebecca: Has being mixed race played a role in your dating life prior to being on The Bachelorette? And if it has, how so?

Ivan: I think it made me want to purposefully date people of other races all across the board, which is why if you look at my dating history, it really IS all across the board. I wanted to have that experience. I wanted to see what people of different cultures are like. So I think it’s made me more open-minded more than anything.

Bri: As a child, when did you realize that you were different in regards to your mixed race? Did you grow up around other mixed people?

Ivan: Very early on, my race was apparent to me. When people look at me they’re just like, “What are you?” I get that all the time. If white people meet a new white person, they don’t usually ask, “Hey, what race are you?” But with me, almost everybody is like, “Hey, what are you?” Or they look at me kinda funny. So, race is always at the forefront for everything, especially as I grew up. For example, when I’m walking with my 4’11” mom somewhere, people are like, “What’s going on with this situation?” I’m like 6’3”! It’s just a funny dynamic. So it’s always been very prevalent, and I realized that at an early age. I grew up in Plano, Texas, upper middle class, and in an all white area — for the most part. But I will say I did have a pretty broad range of friends, in terms of race. Then I went to Texas Tech University, out in West Texas, where it’s not diverse at all. I’ve mostly been around majority white schools and white people, but my friend group has always been pretty diverse.

Rebecca: When someone looks at you and sees someone who is Black, but not Asian, how does it feel, especially when you have such a strong connection to your mom and your Filipino roots? 

Ivan: The reality is, in this country, it’s like the one drop rule. If I’m a drop Black, I’m viewed as a Black man, no matter what. If I’m pulled over by a cop, or if I’m just walking down the street, nobody says, “Hey, look at that Asian guy!” I’m darker and have more Black features, so people view me as a Black guy. It’s just the reality of the situation.

My Filipino side and my mom, definitely make themselves known through my normal life. She was the main caretaker of our whole family, so I used to eat rice every single day. The fact that I have a rice cooker throws people off!

Bri: We’ve seen a lot of lumpia from you, both on the show and in videos of you and your mom on Instagram. Do you have other favorite Filipino dishes? What’s your favorite recipe that you’d like to share with us?

Ivan: I do have a lot of favorites! I really like this dish called paksiw. I like siopao, which is like a little bread with meat inside of it, and it’s a good snack in the morning. My favorite is this dish called dinuguan. I didn’t know what it was until I became an adult, and when I was told what it is, I got freaked out! It’s all kinds of pig meat and pork and cartilage, and I was fine with that, but it’s drenched in this black sauce and rice, and I didn't know until I was probably around 20 that the black sauce was pig’s blood!

Bri and Rebecca: Oooooh!

Ivan: It’s honestly my favorite! I still love it.

Bri and Rebecca: Pig is great! 

Ivan: There are so many good foods though. My mom, and especially my grandma, know how to cook, for sure. I love it.

Rebecca: This is our last question. Your father said he met your mom, and he knew that this time he was in it for the long haul. Do you feel that this is the core of love? What is love to you?

Ivan: My dad said he was in it for the long haul when it came to my mom because he realized that you have to be mature enough to really be able to enter into a long-term relationship. You need self love, and you have to be mature to be able to provide all the love that is needed for a successful marriage. That came about in my dad’s life later on, for sure. He had a tough upbringing and didn’t have a father figure. So by the time he was 40, and met my mom, he had taken some time, was established in his career and was ready for their relationship. As far as defining love for myself… I think what it really comes down to, and what means the most to me, is that love is unconditional. That’s the key thing I always go back to. No matter what, through thick or thin, good times or bad times, I’m gonna be there for you, no matter what. Let’s try to bring as much joy and happiness to each other’s lives along the ride.

Ivan is so sweet and super chill. A perfect guy to make history on The Bachelor franchise. Any girl will be lucky to date him, either in the real world or on reality TV. There haven’t been any official talks about Ivan on Paradise, so we’ll just have to wait and see. We hope he finds his soul mate. 

*THIS INTERVIEW WAS CONDUCTED ON JANUARY 29, 2021, BEFORE THE RACHAEL KIRKCONNELL CONTROVERSY. PHOTOS OF THE SEASON 25 CONTESTANT, RACHAEL, RESURFACED OF HER AT AN ANTEBELLUM PLANTATION PARTY. THE SHOW’S HOST AND PRODUCER, CHRIS HARRISON DEFENDED RACHAEL IN AN INTERVIEW WITH RACHEL LINDSAY. IF YOU’D LIKE TO READ THE STATEMENT ON THE MATTER FROM THE CONTESTANTS OF BACHELORETTE SEASON 16, WE HAVE IT FOR YOU HERE: