The Bachelor host Jesse Palmer has offered his share of tissues to heartbroken contestants during his time with the franchise. He even broke a few hearts of his own when he was the Season 5 Bachelor back in 2004.
But just like Bachelorette star Jenn Tran, he didn’t see the trainwreck headed her way disguised as Devin Strader.
Jesse was almost as heartbroken as Jenn when he heard the Pete Davidson doppelganger had experienced a change of heart.
So many tears
“When I found out, I felt a lot of emotions,” Jesse told Entertainment Weekly. “I was heartbroken for Jenn, [and] I was confused. I never anticipated this happening, considering everything that I saw happen between the two of them in Hawaii.”
During the After the Final Rose episode, fans learned that the couple broke their engagement just after the show ended. Mercifully, ABC decided not to air their doomed proposal. It would have just been too painful for everyone involved.
“People in the audience were shocked, as I’m sure people were at home watching,” Jesse reflected. “We had never seen Jenn so emotional … As difficult as that must have been for her to recount, she showed incredible strength and bravery.”
Meanwhile, Jesse doesn’t feel Devin ever properly explained himself as to “why things ended or what changed” between them. Sitting next to the man she was in love with, Jenn constantly wiped away tears and, at times, struggled to speak. It was heartwrenching to watch, but Jesse admitted he was proud of her and how she handled the situation.
“I think we also saw an empowered woman doing things on her terms,” he added. “I couldn’t be more excited for what’s next for Jenn, and I know she’s going to be great on Dancing with the Stars!”
Jenn’s just gonna dance
At the finale, Jesse ended things on a happy note by announcing that Jenn’s next stop is Season 33 of Dancing with the Stars. In what has become something of a tradition among Bachelors and Bachelorettes, Jenn will compete for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy alongside pro dancer Ezra Sosa.
For her part, Jenn wasn’t surprised by Devin’s seeming lack of emotion at ATFR. “That’s kind of just been the way he’s been after the breakup,” she told Us Weekly in a September 4 interview. “I was not expecting anything different. He hadn’t been responding to my calls and whatnot, so I didn’t think that he was gonna be emotional.”
“There were no surprises,” she added. “They knew it [would] be a very emotional night for me.”
And things were just as awkward behind the scenes as they looked on camera, she reported. Especially during the commercial breaks.
“I wasn’t really looking at him much,” she recalled. “I was in my own mood, and he was like, ‘Why aren’t you looking at me?’ [And] I’m like, ‘Well, ’cause you kind of suck!’”
The Bachelorette Season 21 is now streaming on ABC.com.
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