Amanda Stanton's ex-husband Nick Buonfiglia insists he's not as bad of a father as the bachelorette made him out to be on The Bachelor.
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Stanton and Buonfiglia have two daughters together -- Kinsley, 3, and Charlie, 2 -- but finalized their divorce in June of last year. When the County-based esthetician competed for Ben Higgins on The Bachelor, she said her ex-husband cared more about himself than their children and had cheated on her when they were married.
Buonfiglia confessed to Us Weekly while he's not perfect, he loves his children very much and never neglected them.
"That knocks me for the fact that there's three sides to every story," Buonfiglia told Us, pointing out that he and the family recently celebrated Charlie's second birthday at Disneyland.
"I am a man. I admit I made mistakes -- I am able to grow from it and learn from it. I have always been a great father to my girls, and I always will be for them."
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So it was definitely hard to watch Stanton bash him a little bit on The Bachelor while she was opening up to Higgins.
"For me to watch it and kind of relive it -- our marriage wasn't perfect," Buonfiglia continued. "We married young, we had our ups and downs, I was able to learn from it. A lot of people got the wrong side, like I abandoned my kids -- that's something I've seen in social media."
But there are apparently no hard feelings. In fact, Stanton's ex-husband wouldn't mind meeting Higgins someday and shaking his hand.
"Absolutely, I would," Buonfiglia said. "He has a way different perception of me from what was said, and so does America. I definitely would like to show him the person I am and not the person he assumed I was from what was said."
Buonfiglia, who reportedly works in business development and outside sales for the Orange County Register, has been a fan of The Bachelor franchise for years and claimed Stanton would probably make a great leading lady.
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"I think she has a good story, and she's been very genuine and sweet," Buonfiglia told Us of why Stanton would make a good choice for the next The Bachelorette star.
"There's a lot of single mothers out there -- I think they can all relate to her story... It's probably something I wouldn't watch! But do I think she would make a good Bachelorette, absolutely."
If Stanton doesn't become the Bachelorette though, Buonfiglia wouldn't be opposed to joining the cast.
"It definitely depends," Buonfiglia said of the potential opportunity.
"It couldn't be Amanda! It would be really hilarious. I'm not gonna lie -- it would be really funny [if I went on and Amanda was Bachelorette]. I don't know how I would feel, but I think everybody deserves a chance to be happy and find love. Amanda went on it, and so if I had the opportunity, I would probably take it."
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The Bachelor airs every Monday night from 8-10PM ET/PT on ABC.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski