Rachel Lindsay's Bachelorette Runner-Up Feels 'Attacked' in First Meeting Since Brutal Split
SPOILER WARNING: If you haven’t seen Monday’s season finale of The Bachelorette, heads up that the outcome will be revealed in this article.
Rachel Lindsay and Peter Kraus came face-to-face on Monday night for the first time since their tear-filled split on the Bachelorette — and she got the closure she was hoping for.
On the season 13 finale, audiences watched Lindsay say goodbye to Kraus, who admitted to her that he wasn’t yet ready to get down on one knee and propose.
During the After the Final Rose special, the pair relived their heart-wrenching split, and discussed their final goodbye in front of audiences.
“I’m shaking like a leaf right now, I’m terrified. This is hard,” Kraus admitted when he joined Lindsay on the couch.
Reflecting on their split, Lindsay said, “It was really, really frustrating.”
“I was confused in that moment. I didn’t understand how you could come that far … so I was confused as to why you were … planning this future with me,” she explained to him.
Although Kraus’ hesitation about proposing seemed to be a focal point of their differences, Lindsay said that “there were other deep-rooted issues” that she began to see.
During the special, both Lindsay and Kraus took time apologize to one another for things that they regretted saying: Lindsay for saying she wanted a ring “out of emotion” and Kraus for saying she would have a mediocre life without him. But Lindsay was quick to remind Kraus that she is doing just fine without him. “I’m living my best life,” she told Kraus as she turned toward host Chris Harrison.
“There’s no denying that I didn’t care for Peter,” admitted Lindsay. “There’s no denying that I didn’t love Peter.”
Still, Lindsay admitted to not having anger, but rather “frustration” about re-watching their breakup — and Kraus didn’t interpret her response positively.
“I’m out here and I feel attacked in the way that you responded to that,” he told her.
WATCH: Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay on Meeting Her Dream Man on the Show: “I Found My Forever Love”
Kraus also revealed the heart-wrenching reason he was reminded of Lindsay in the days after their split: he found her fake eyelashes scattered on the floor of his room, which were a “daily reminder” of her absence.
“I still have feelings for Rachel,” he admitted. “And in time those feelings will change.”
Though the pair didn’t find happily ever after with one another, Kraus thanked her for helping him to love again. “I wish you nothing but the best and I just really want happiness for you,” he told her, which Lindsay echoed. “I swear I want the same for you,” she said.
For Lindsay, who is happily engaged to Bryan Abasolo, the Kraus chapter of her life has closed.
“I believe in closure — that was it,” she told Harrison.
