The Bachelorette Finale Backlash: Jenn Tran Says She’s Actually Glad ABC Showed the Proposal

Disney/John Fleenor

Prior to The Bachelorette finale, Jenn Tran would joke that she couldn’t wait to see how her finale would play out. It was an interesting choice of words given that of all people, the Bachelorette should know how her season ends. Turns out, while she had the main details, it wasn’t until the live “After the Final Rose” episode that she could really write her ending.

The TL;DR is that after she sent runner-up Marcus home, she got engaged to Devin Strader. Instead of then showing that engagement, Jesse Palmer announced during the live portion of The Bachelorette finale that the two had actually broken up in the weeks since, and as a result, they wouldn’t be showing the engagement until Jenn came out onstage to discuss things.

Celebrity News

Fans also have a few things to say to production.

It was shocking news since Devin had pursued Jenn relentlessly during the entire run of the show, declared his love for her time and time again, and nearly had a panic attack at the thought of losing her. And even though it was painful to watch Jenn have to talk about what had transpired—and then face a glib Devin—the worst part came when Jesse eventually segued to the footage of the proposal, with an emotional Jenn having to watch it next to Devin, while also having her tearful reaction to what was playing out shown in a screen-in-screen box.

Everyone from die-hard fans to Bachelor alums were appalled at the way the night’s events transpired, with some going as far as saying they were done with the franchise. But in a new interview with Jenn—who was at the airport in New York about to fly back to Los Angeles to begin Dancing with the Stars rehearsals—she opened up about the public airing of that proposal, what Devin said to her during the commercial break, and what else we don’t know about his private DMs.

Glamour: Most importantly, how are you doing right now?

Jenn Tran: Yeah, I’m good. [DWTS partner Sasha Farber] and I are traveling back to LA. It’s nice to be distracted, but I know I still have a lot of processing to do after everything that went down last night. It’s been just a wide range of emotions, but I’m mostly very, very excited for this new chapter.

I think of all the times I would say to you, “I can’t wait to see the finale and how it all plays out,” and you’re like, “Me too.” I would think to myself, “Why is she saying that?” But now it makes sense.

Well, mainly I was joking, but yeah, I guess I really didn’t know how it was going to play out.

Entertainment

The first Asian American lead in franchise history opens up about overcoming imposter syndrome, casting criticisms, and the finale plot twist no one will see coming.

Let’s talk about last night’s “After the Final Rose.” I had no problem that they decided to show the proposal. I just found it deeply insensitive that they showed it when they did, which was after it was revealed you and Devin had broken up. What was your reaction to that, and did you know they were going to play it ahead of time?

Yes, I did know that was going to happen. They walked me through the game plan and everything. I guess I just didn’t know how heavy I would be feeling in the moment, just seeing [Devin] again and having that conversation that we had. I was very, very anxious that night and so my emotions were just all over the place from the beginning. It was a very hard thing to do to watch it back with him, but I also knew that it needed to be done because I wanted him to watch that part.

How come?

He just says things all the time and I don’t even know if he’s been watching everything back and really listening to the words he’s saying, because his apologies have been so nonexistent. I’m like, Why don’t you watch this back and listen to the words that you’re saying to me and realize why I’m so hurt by what you did? But it was definitely not an easy thing to do, and I didn’t think I was going to be so emotional.

You said on Good Morning America that you feel closure. What made you feel better after last night? How did you find that closure you were speaking of?

The closure for me was a lot of different things that had happened since last night. First and foremost, it’s the fact that I had wanted a conversation with him before that night off camera, and he had been almost leading me on to think that he wanted to do that and then he ghosted me. Leading up to that day, I kind of had my own closure [knowing] he doesn’t care about my feelings, and it’s all about him and he’s only going to be at this finale because he wants to save face for the world, but not necessarily help me feel any better. When somebody puts their own emotions over my own, it gives me closure in a way.

Then there were things that popped up since last night, like certain girls DM’ing me to say he had been in their DMs and things like that. What that says to me is you have a lot of growing to do and this is on you and not me. I know how amazing I am and the things that I have to offer, but the fact that he’s sitting here telling me on the phone that he’s going to take this time to really work on himself and he is not going to date, but then turns right back around and lies to me…clearly that is not a me problem. That is a you problem.

That is exactly right. When I was watching last night I also felt like he was saying, “You’re way too good for me and I don’t know what to do about it.”

Which is a cop-out answer.

Exactly. Even though you are way too good for him. So, in regards to former Bachelor contestant Maria, have you talked to her and do you know if she and Devin ever met up?

No, I have no idea what happened. I have no intention of caring about any of that, but the day after the breakup, it was hurtful enough for me to be like, Okay, that’s another sign you very clearly do not care about me. That’s all I needed to know.

I wanted your brother to jump out of the audience and go after him.

I’m surprised my brother didn’t.

And during the commercial breaks, what was that like? Did Devin say anything to you?

Oh, it was so awkward. He was like, “Why aren’t you looking at me? Can you just look at me?” And I was like, “No, you don’t deserve me to look at you. You don’t deserve that. I’m not giving you the time of day right now.” Yeah, so it was awkward.

I’m glad to hear the producers at least explained ahead of time to you that they planned on showing the proposal, but did you ever think about stepping away and leaving the stage while it was airing?

In my head I had thought about it. I was like, I don’t know if I am completely comfortable being this emotional in front of so many people. I think I struggled with, Do I just run offstage or is that going to make a bigger scene? But once the waterworks started, I was like, Oh, this is going to be dramatic if I just run away, so maybe I just sit here? I was just struggling with myself and what to do in that moment.

You handled it beautifully, but my heart just went out to you. Did you by any chance speak to Jeremy afterwards?

No, I have not spoken to him yet.

His reaction on camera when you called him out for clubbing with Devin was kind of amazing.

That’s funny. I haven’t seen it. I mean, I haven’t watched anything back, so I don’t know what his reaction was to that. Yeah, I can’t imagine. Probably pretty funny. Hey, I have nothing against Jeremy. Jeremy owes me nothing, so I have no hard feelings against him.

On your Instagram Stories today, you said as soon as you got offstage last night, you found out you were going to New York for Dancing with the Stars. Were you a last-minute addition to the cast, or did you know about this prior to the ATFR taping?

I found out as soon as I got done [with the finale last night]. I had previously had a meeting about it and they were just like, “We don’t know yet.” I had thought that the ship had sailed, so I was very much not expecting it because I had known that the announcement was going to happen this morning. I was like, If I haven’t heard, it’s probably just not in the cards for me. To my surprise, when I got offstage, I was crying and they were like, “You’re going on Dancing with the Stars and you’ve got to get on a plane in 45 minutes and you can’t pack anything. Make sure to have your ID.” I was like, Is this real life? Is this really happening? Can people do this? Who pulls these strings?

I was just so excited and so happy. And it was nice to be able to have that happiness in a moment of me very clearly not being very happy, so I was very, very grateful for that.

Did it feel like that was their way of apologizing? As if to say, “We know that you’ve just been put through the ringer, so let’s give you something to look forward to”?

I don’t know. I mean, maybe, yeah. It’s definitely nice and it lifted my spirits. I’m so happy to be able to do something that I’ve always wanted to do, which is learn to dance. I grew up watching this show and so I have always wanted to be on it, so it’s really a dream come true.

If the show were to ask you to be The Bachelorette again, and take their time finding guys truly there for you, would you be open to it? Or are you done with dating on TV?

I think at the moment I’m pretty done dating on TV. I don’t think that’s in the cards for me again.

That is fair.

Yeah, I’m going to try some regular old boys.

Speaking of regular stuff, what is the latest with your job and education and all that now that you are doing Dancing?

I had already intended not to go back to school until January, so I will still be going back to school. It’s all sorted out, and I’m very excited and grateful to have this time period where I’m not doing anything that I was able to take this opportunity. It’s kind of like all the cards really fell into place right now, which is amazing.

Lastly, have you spoken to your ex, Matt, since all this went down?

Funny enough, I did get a text from him this morning, just wishing me well and hoping that I’m okay. That was nice. And a lot of the guys from the season have reached out, which honestly makes me just so grateful. They all meant so much to me to be able to share this journey with them and they’re all amazing guys.

Well, maybe not all of them, Jenn.

Okay, not all of them, but a large chunk really had good hearts, so for them to reach out and make sure I’m okay, I couldn’t be more grateful.

I don’t know if you’ve seen how much Bachelor Nation and everybody on social media has been wanting to envelop you in a huge hug after what you’ve been through. If that’s any comfort…

It really has been. I don’t think I really realized the impact that I had or how many supporters I really had. To see everybody come together in a moment like this has been really special. It’s been the one thing that almost makes the pain worth it…knowing that so many people are here for me. It makes me feel less alone. Also, I’m honestly just so grateful because I’ve been living this breakup kind of alone for the past month. I didn’t really want to tell a lot of my friends and family, so to just have the outpouring of support now has been really helpful in the healing process.

Was there anything that got you through it? Because I don’t know how you did it, having to put on a public face.

I just was so heartbroken so I did not have much of an appetite, [but when I did] I looked forward to sushi. I also spent a lot of time at the gym, so getting strong and fit and healthy was really helpful. It’s just been nice to kind of refocus things on myself and also feel good about myself again.

And let me know when you’re ready to go back to New Zealand, and we’ll go find some sheep to hang out with.

I would love that.

And we’ll go on the hunt for guys and see who we find.

Perfect. I can’t wait.

Originally Appeared on Glamour