'The Bachelorette' star Tyler Cameron opens up about grieving during the holidays: 'Sometimes I'm overwhelmed ... missing my mom'
Partnering with Simply Spiked, Cameron is ready to break the ice and bring some fun to a fan's holiday gathering
The holidays are a celebratory time for many, but The Bachelorette alum Tyler Cameron knows first-hand that sometimes the holidays can bring up a lot of difficult emotions. Ahead of U.S. Thanksgiving, Cameron, who lost his mom in 2020 after she suffered a brain aneurysm, has some advice for anyone struggling around the holidays after losing a loved one.
"It's definitely harsh, and right away," Cameron told Yahoo Canada. "Grief comes in waves and it hits you out of nowhere at times, so there may be a holiday where ... you're able to get through it smoothly, ... but then there will be some holidays where it really hits you hard. And don't ever feel guilty about that."
"You lost someone that's near and dear to you, it's OK to take time for yourself and to go sit in the corner. Sometimes that's what I've got to do. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed and there's so many people, and I'm missing my mom, and I'll just step away. And it has nothing to do with anybody else, but just me. So make sure you take care of yourself during the holidays. It can be a very great time for some people. It can be a very difficult time for some people. But I think as long as you're surrounding yourself with people you love, ... that's all that matters."
'Shielding' his relationships from the public
We now know that one of those people Cameron has around for support is girlfriend Tate Madden after recently going public with their relationship.
"For a long time, I was just next to somebody and they're like, 'Oh, they're together,'" Cameron said. "One, that just doesn't look good for me, because everyone thinks I'm with everybody now. But two, there was very little truth to it all."
"It's something I've learned to also kind of protect and shield as well, until it's ready and strong enough for us to come out. ... You're on a dating show now everyone cares about who you date. ... It's fun now that we're out there and we can have fun with it. I think we were just trying to make sure the timing was right, we felt comfortable doing it."
Take Tyler Cameron home for the holidays
But if you need a little extra support over the holidays, Cameron is going the extra mile, thanks to Simply Spiked. In support of the release of the new, limited-release Simply Spiked Cranberry, until Nov. 14 residents of Canada (excluding Quebec) and the U.S. who are 21 and older can enter a contest to bring Cameron to their home for their family's holiday gathering. It's basically the ultimate hometown date.
"We've all been the situation. We've all been single and our parents hit us with a, 'When are you going to bring somebody?'" Cameron said. "Now I get to be that somebody."
"I'm going to bring the fun. We already have the Simply Spiked Cranberry, but now we got me involved too, so it's going to be a lot of fun."
And don't worry, Cameron already has a plan to win over your difficult family members.
"You've got to win mama over, because then everything else is going to be smooth," Cameron said. "Pops is always sometimes tougher to work with, but maybe he's a sports guy, ... find common ground."
But for anyone struggling to figure out how to make a good first impression over the holidays with a girlfriend's family, Cameron also has some more tips.
"Don't come empty handed. Dress appropriately and have your manners, be locked in with your manners," Cameron stressed. "If you come in dressed ... in sweatpants, like this is not a big deal, they're going to look at you like this isn't a big deal either."
Tyler Cameron teases more reality TV
While Cameron quickly became a Bachelor Nation favourite, he's combined his love of reality TV with his work in construction for the show Going Home With Tyler Cameron, but the reality star revealed there will be more of him to see in the reality TV world soon.
"You'll see me this summer, ... I'll be around," Cameron said. "I'm going keep getting myself into more stuff."
Helping him along the way is Madden, who Cameron credits for a lot of the home building work that they do.
"She's got some really exciting things coming on in the future and so I'm excited for her, and I want people to get to know her and meet her and understand her, because she's so awesome," Cameron said. "And she's such a big part of the designs that we do on these houses and building out these houses, she's so talented and so great."
"It is sometimes fun, sometimes some animosity. We argue about who designed what, who picked what out. But always at the end of it all it comes together really nicely, and then we always love it. We have our little battles here and there, but if you can design a home with someone, you can do anything with someone."