On what should've been "one of the most magical days of her life," Tessa Tookes from Bachelor in Paradise Canada felt "embarrassed" and "isolated." "It definitely was not what I was expecting in terms of a bridal shopping experience," she told Good Morning America.
What really surprised her and made her upset was that the bridal shop informed her that only "nude" undergarments were free, while ones matching her skin tone would cost more. Her fiancé, Bachelor in Paradise Canada star Joey Kirchner, shared a video on TikTok to stand up for his soon-to-be wife and raise awareness of the problem.
In his video, Joey explained that Tessa went to buy a gorgeous dress, but then, the woman working at the bridal shop said: "Glad you found your dress. The undergarment choices come in two options: the standardized choice is nude, which is free, but if you would like the undergarment to match your skin tone, there's an upcharge."
Joey was clearly outraged in the video, and also told Good Morning America that he was "livid" after Tessa told him what had happened. "I was extremely shocked and upset that something like this could even take place," he told the outlet.
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He made his "disbelief" evident in the video that he shared on TikTok. "So you're telling me that it's free to be white, but if my bride has a different skin tone than white, she has to pay extra money to get the undergarment to match her skin tone?" he said in the video.
As he pointed out in the video, "nude" could be many different skin tones — but at that bridal shop, "nude" meant white. "Why is the standard white?" he asked in disbelief, noting that it's 2024 and yet the problem somehow still exists.
Joey emphasized how "awkward" and uncomfortable the experience was for Tessa because she wanted the dress, but didn't want to pay extra for the undergarments. Tessa told Good Morning America that she "didn't have the courage in the moment to speak up for [herself]." Instead, she decided that she could dye the undergarments herself.
The fact that she had to consider dying the undergarments herself reminded her of a similar experience she had as a child, she explained to Good Morning America.
As a kid who danced, she had to dye her own tights and shoes for ballet.
Joey had a message for wedding dress designers at the end of the video: "Wedding dress designers, take [expletive] note. This is [expletive] and you should be called out."
Tessa told Good Morning America that the bridal shop has apologized and has offered the dress to her for free. The designer of the dress has also communicated with the shop about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training.
Many who commented on Joey's video were also disgusted by the experience Tessa had at that bridal shop — and a lot of people were less than pleased with the bridal industry as a whole.
"I learned this very young in ballet," one person wrote on TikTok. "It's very sad 20 years later and nothing has changed."
"Say it LOUDER for these designers," another person commented. "it is something we've been complaining for a long time!!"
TikTok users also loved the way Joey stood up for his future wife and seemed truly appalled by the issue.
"I think you just found out one of the standard micro aggressions we all deal with – thanks for calling it out," one person wrote.
"btw I spit out my martini," one TikTok user commented, adding a laughing emoji.
"Thank you for feeling this rage with her," another person commented. "This is so validating."
