Vanessa Lachey says her 'mama bear instinct' came out when she stood up to Shake on the 'Love Is Blind' reunion

• Vanessa Lachey said her "mama bear instinct" came out when confronting Shake on "Love Is Blind."
• "I really try to do it with grace and not be disrespectful," she told Insider, noting she's "human."

"Love Is Blind" cohost Vanessa Lachey told Insider in a recent interview that her "mama bear instinct" came out when she confronted Abhishek "Shake" Chatterjee on the season two reunion show.

During the moment in question, Lachey was talking to Shake about blatantly asking women questions regarding their weight and physical appearance while getting to know them in the "pods" stage of the experiment. On "Love Is Blind," male and female contestants are separated from each other and have conversations to get to know each other while separated by a wall, the point being to see if you can fall in love with someone without knowing what they look like.

While talking to women, Shake blatantly asked them their clothes size and if he'd have a difficult time lifting them up on his shoulders.

Lachey got frustrated with the emphasis Shake was putting on looks.

"You need to open your heart to a bigger picture. Because at the end of the day, what if she's dismangled in an accident, what if she gains weight, what if she loses her hair, her legs, and her arms? Are you not going to love her anymore?" the mother of three asked Sake on the reunion show about a hypothetical partner.

"I hope to god if I'm dismangled, knock on fuckin' wood, this man stands by my side and I know he will because he loves me for me," she continued, pointing to her husband and cohost Nick Lachey.

The "NCIS: Hawaii" star told Shake that her issue with him was that he "sat there and berated every single one of these women" based on their physical traits. She told the reality star that his ex Deepti Vempati was a "beautiful soul" who Shake had no intention of falling in love with and just "wanted to fuck."

"I think that something just came over me as, again, a woman in this industry, as a minority in this industry, I've fought through a lot," Lachey told Insider about the strong words she had for Shake during our interview to promote Dairy Queen's Miracle Treat Day coming up on July 28.

She said that whenever she sees anyone getting "disrespected" like she saw Shake doing to multiple people on "Love Is Blind" and the reunion show, "I just have this mama bear instinct where I want to stand up and I want to say something."

"And I really try to do it with grace and not be disrespectful, but it got to a point that you're human and your emotions come out. And what you saw was my emotion coming out," Lachey continued.

Lachey is blazing trails on television and her daughter thinks she's 'Wonder Woman'

Shake is a polarizing figure on reality television, so Lachey's message for him was a powerful moment for fans. But she's making an impact in other genres, too, specifically in her role as Jane Tenant on CBS's hit spinoff "NCIS: Hawai'i."

Lachey, a Filipina-American actor, is also the first woman to lead a show in the "NCIS" franchise.

"It means that we're moving in the right direction in terms of what's on camera because it's actually in the real world," she said of her role. "There are women in my position who are of my ethnicity in NCIS. It's an honor that I get to be the one to do the representation."

"The Ultimatum" host told Insider that the importance of the role became clear to her when she saw her daughter, Brooklyn, 7, watching her work.

"My daughter saw it and the way she looked at me like her Wonder Woman and she saw me representing women, that hit me," Lachey shared. "And then I realized it's a bigger picture than just my children. This is for all little girls and all little boys, too. Anybody that feels different."

Lachey said she remembered feeling "less than" while growing up because she didn't see many people that looked like her on television.

"You can be Jane Tennant on 'NCIS: Hawai'i,' but also you can be your own person and you can get the spouse and get the family and get the job and live in the dream island that you want to. If that's what you want to do, the way you live will not stop you," Lachey said of her message to young people.

DQ's Miracle Treat Day is meant to spotlight how people can make an impact in their communities, too. On July 28, participating stores will donate a dollar from every Blizzard purchased to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

"You are bringing health and hope to local kids and also treating yourself to a summer Blizzard treat," Lachey said.