Gabby Windey is down to her final guy on this first-ever co-Bachelorette season, and that man is Erich Schwer.
While Reality Steve has revealed the spoiler on whether the two are still together today, many fans have made the decision to wait and watch themselves.
However, while Gabby is looking into her future, one of her finalists, Erich is having to address something from this past.
This week, a yearbook photo from when Erich was in high school has resurfaced, was leaked, and has since been making its way through social media.
In the photo, Erich has his face painted black, which he explained was a tribute to one of his heroes, Jimi Hendrix.
But many people took the photo as extremely controversial and even racist, which in turn, has Erich apologizing for his lack of judgment and actions in his past.
Erich Schwer apologizes for his controversial yearbook photo
In his most recent Instagram post, Erich apologizes for his past actions as he wrote, “I wholeheartedly apologize for the insensitive photo of me in Blackface from my high school yearbook that has been circulating.”
He went on to state, “What I thought at the time was a representation of my love for Jimi Hendrix, was nothing but ignorance. I was naïve to the hurtful implications of my actions to the Black community and those closest to me, and will forever regret my offensive and damaging behavior.”
Erich then ended his apology by stating that he is ashamed of his past actions and wants people to know that he will be taking further steps to educate himself and take full ownership and accountability for what he did back in high school.
Nate Mitchell responds to Erich Schwer’s social media apology
The first person to comment on Erich’s Instagram post apology was Nate Mitchell, another of Gabby’s suitors and a fellow contestant with Erich from the show.
Nate started off his post by writing, “Appreciate you taking ownership bro, I can’t absolve you of this but I can attest to the man I’ve met and you have been nothing less than someone who I’d consider a friend.”
He also discussed the fact that he has been friends with other people throughout his life who have also made a choice as Erich did. Nate went on to state that Erich’s school is also to blame for allowing this picture to be in their yearbook and not teaching kids about the issue at hand.
At the end of the message, Nate asked Erich to continue to learn from his past, grow as a person, and educate himself as he moves forward in life.
Nate told Erich that he was there for him to reach out to also if he ever had any questions or needed advice.
The Bachelorette airs on Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.