Bachelorette Charity Lawson says Brayden's Men Tell All claims have 'no credibility'

This week on The Bachelorette, Charity Lawson reunited with (almost) all of this season's contestants at the Men Tell All reunion. EW talked with the Bachelorette over Zoom about seeing her ex-"boyfriends" again, her take on Brayden's MTA statements, and who she thinks should be the next Bachelor.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: One of my favorite parts of the Men/Women Tell All reunions is seeing who got a makeover or glow-up since production ended. Who looked the most different to you?

CHARITY LAWSON: The style is always immaculate. Michael looked great. His suit was great. Tanner, John B. I was surprised to see Spencer. I was like, "Okay, Spencer's tan over there. Okay!"

Who were you most nervous to see again and most eager to see again?

Um, not eager to see anyone. [Laughs]

Yes. Keep it real!

[Laughs] Yeah. Let's be very clear. And I wouldn't describe it as nervous. I think maybe Xavier, just knowing that I had to face him and have a heavier conversation. I was not nervous to see Brayden at all.

Was there one thing going in with Xavier that you wanted closure on?

I don't know if it's necessarily closure. In that moment we see it's a very heavy conversation, so I had a lot of emotions going on. So, I don't think I was able to ask all the things I needed to ask or maybe understanding all of the things that he was saying to me in that moment. For me at least, that was the purpose of that conversation at Men Tell All. I think I got what I needed, and I hope that he got what he needed as well.

You noted during the Men Tell All that when you watched this season back, you saw that Brayden communicated with the other men differently than he communicated with you. And separately, he said there was a switch between the way you acted with him versus the other men. What do you think is the sort of origin of this disconnect?

[Makes 'girl, please' face] You saw my face! [Laughs] There is no disconnect. This is Brayden trying to make it about Brayden and make himself seem a lot better, or whatever. We saw all the men on that stage vouch for my authenticity, and I said it time and time again: At no point did Charity Lawson ever switch up who she was. I showed who I was the entire season, and I think viewers can also make sense of that too.

It's crazy because Brayden never really saw me in other settings with the men apart from group dates. But I got to see Brayden act crazy with the men and on his interviews and watching it back. I sit down individually with the guys, and I also see them in group settings. The origin of it is just Brayden talking about whatever. So yeah. No credibility to that. Next!

I'd imagine it's not always easy to be comfortable in a reality TV setting. What was the biggest challenge for you when it came to being your authentic self on the show?

I don't think it was a challenge. Obviously, I was on Zach's season, and that was an adjustment. When I accepted the role of Bachelorette, I knew coming into this that the only way that I'm going to survive is if I stay true to myself. Like, it's hard. For me it's hard to keep up with an act and be consistent in that. I don't know how some people are so skillful at that. For me, I value my authenticity so much. I was like, "I'm coming into this as Charity, and if they don't like it, they don't like it." I can't really do anything else than just be the real me. That was easy for me to do.

Do you think Brayden was just auditioning for Bachelor in Paradise this whole time?

I don't know. I honestly will say, I think early on we had a connection. I just think it got to the point where he knew where it was probably going, and I don't think he was bold enough to be like, "Let me go ahead and dismiss myself." I think he definitely waited it out as much as he could, which makes me now question, oh, were you trying to get to a certain point? I don't know. He did what he did best, and we're just going to move on. [Laughs]

During the Men Tell All, you said that looking back on your break-up with Xavier in Fiji, you feel that you were too generous during that conversation. And you also said something similar in our previous interview about your conversation with Brayden — you said you were too gracious with him. In retrospect, what did you learn from those two conversations?

I'm not regretful for being gracious or generous, because that's who I am as a person. I'm a very compassionate and loving person. But I think in these moments when these men have shown me multiple times who they are, it's a wake-up sign for me to be like, all right, they've shown you their character flaws, whatever you want to call it, and it's up to me to believe that. With Brayden, we've seen it take up majority of the season of me giving him chances again. That's me also working through those emotions. I don't want to apologize for that, because I'm doing what I know is best in that moment with all the information that I have.

But obviously watching back it's like, I probably could have handled this situation differently. Or if I knew everything that I now know now, I would've approached a conversation differently. In that moment with Xavier, I definitely had less time, so I think that's why we see me act accordingly. It's like, all right, let's get him outta here because we have a week until proposal. I cannot afford to take a chance on this and not know what the outcome would be, if you're just blatantly saying that you can't trust yourself to commit. It was a very empowering moment for me to make a call, like, no, I have other men that are truly here [for me] and they know why they're here, and they see a future with me.

Was there a moment that you were sure was going to make the Men Tell All bloopers but didn't?

My biggest fears are like bugs and spiders. So, I had a couple moments in my interviews where there were bugs, and I was truly freaking out. I was surprised we didn't have any of those.

If you had to choose the next Bachelor from all the guys who were present at the Men Tell All, who would it be and why?

Hands down, my vote is for John B. He's very charismatic, but in a very wholesome way. It's not like, let me lead with my charm and then do some crazy s--- later. He is just a well-rounded guy. A lot of people are captivated by his personality, and he really is someone who I feel is very genuine at his core and sincere. That makes for a really great lead in my opinion.

Finally, is your brother Nehemiah single? Because he'd be an amazing option, too.

He is single! He also has my vote Bachelor, or we could do a double [Bachelor] season.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

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