Adams' absence left Kaitlyn Bristowe to host the finale on her own.
Tayshia Adams is playing it safe, even if that means stepping back from the spotlight.
The Bachelorette co-host took to her Instagram story a few hours before the season finale kicked off, and explained why she wasn't decked out in hair and make-up and ready to roll alongside Kaitlyn Bristowe.
"As you guys may know, it's a little crazy here in New York, and I was recently exposed," Adams shared. "So out of an abundance of caution for Michelle [Young] to have her night, as well as Kaitlyn and the crew, I will not be there in person."
"But that does not mean I won't be tuning in, popping my popcorn and enjoying it all," added Adams, who appeared to be in high spirits despite the set-back.
She also captioned her final story post with a message for Bristowe and her fans sharing, "@Kaitlynbristow love you so much, I'm there in spirit! I've cried a lot about not being there tonight but gotta make sure my @bachelornation fam stays safe and healthy."
Bristowe addressed Adams' absence at the top of the show on Tuesday, telling the audience, "As you can see, I am alone up here tonight. Nothing like doing live TV solo! What could go wrong? Everything. Everything could go wrong."
"But in all seriousness, Tayshia was recently exposed to COVID, so unfortunately she can't be with us tonight," Bristowe added. "So Tayshia, we -- and I -- are really gonna miss you."
Later in the evening, after commentary roared on Twitter regarding the finale taking place in front of a live, unmasked audience, the show returned from commercial break with everyone seated in the studio wearing their masks once more.
"We've seen a lot of chatter online. So, just so we're clear, everyone around me has tested negative," Bristowe shared. "But just to exercise additional caution, the audience will remain masked throughout the rest of the show."
The news of Adams' absence comes just days after Saturday Night Live had to refigure their Christmas episode with Paul Rudd. The show decided to forgo having an audience, cast or musical guest for the evening due to the massive spike in COVID-19 cases amid the spread of the Omicron variant, which has hit New York especially hard.
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