Bachelor in Paradise's Marcus Grodd Opens Up About His 'Toxic' Relationship with Lacy Faddoul

After Marcus Grodd and Lacy Faddoul tied the knot in an intimate beach ceremony during an episode of Bachelor in Paradise in 2015, viewers were immediately drawn to their love.

Though it seemed as if Grodd and Faddoul – who met in the summer of 2014 on BiP – were ready to embark on a new journey as husband and wife, there were a few things holding them back.

"Looking back now, it just seems like [Lacy] became a different person," Grodd exclusively tells PEOPLE. "Her priorities changed, what she wanted in life changed. She was just a very different person from when I first met and got engaged to."

He adds, "It became a toxic relationship at times. She was very controlling. I was more of an appeasing person. I wouldn't want to fight. There were a lot of barriers that we couldn't overcome. I think that that made her change her mind."



Because the couple didn't legally wed during their ceremony on the show, they had originally talked about planning their wedding after Grodd returned from his training with the Marines so they could include their close friends and family.

"When I came back, it was just a very different situation with her," he says. "It was kind of like postponing our plans. That was the drop of our relationship."

He continues, "She didn't want to live together anymore. She wanted to be able to take time apart again. Things just drastically changed after I got back. It wasn't the best situation to start planning a ceremony here in California."

Though Faddoul previously told PEOPLE she wanted to start a family right away, Grodd says that "her perspective on kids has changed."

"I don't whether it was me or just in general, she negated wanting to have kids at this point in our lives," he explains. "I don't know if it was because of me or we were in that relationship and she didn't see it with me or just as a long-term thing."

Thought Grodd admits there wasn't any closure when it came to his relationship with Faddoul, he says he doesn't regret it one bit.

"At the time, I thought, 'That's what I wanted, and it'll get better,' " he says. "I only regret trying to appease her and trying to get her back in a sense."

He adds, "I was trying to do everything in the book – send her flowers every day, buy her presents, take her to dinner. It seemed like everything was on my end. There was no effort on her end with the relationship. That's the only thing I regret doing is trying to force it."

Now, Grodd – who hasn't seen Faddoul in more than two months – says he is ready to move on with his life.

"I think Lacy and I are done for good," he says. "From what I've seen of her the past six months, 10 months, a year, that's not the woman I want to have my kids with and have a family with."

He concludes, "I think it's good and gone."