Racism is definitely a huge issue in the US but I think TLC is exaggerating the issue as it relates to Ashley and Jay for dramatic effect.

One subtle detail stuck out to me about the harassing/racist comments on the wedding site. She specifically stated it was ONE person who wrote hundreds of comments, and it was a boy she rebuffed in the past. This is not a problem where the whole community is ostracizing them.

Everyone staring at them in the market was straight up TLC frauding. Of course people look at anyone being followed by a camera crew. I once won a trip to NYC where my hsb and I were driven around in a limo and we had to do a shopping spree with a camera guy filming it. They even asked us to redo some things so they could get a better shot etc.What a shocker, everyone was looking at us trying to figure out what was going on.