Bachelor in Paradise's Clay Harbor and Nicole Lopez-Alvar continue to spar on social media, with Clay now saying he'd never let someone pressure him into an engagement and had originally planned to reach out to Nicole after their breakup.
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"I was going to reach out [to Nicole] but after finding out she had a boyfriend a couple of weeks after the show, I decided not to. I was happy for her and didn't wanna intrude."
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Nicole, 26, fell hard and fast for Clay, 32, on Season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise this past summer, but when it became time for the couple to potentially get engaged during the finale, Clay said he wasn't ready and would just like to continue dating.
However, after Clay confessed he wasn't even in love with Nicole yet, she felt slighted, offended and disrespected. Nicole therefore dumped Clay on the beach that day and the former couple went their separate ways.
But Nicole and Clay haven't stayed out of each other's lane since the finale aired on ABC.
Earlier this month, Clay threw shade at Nicole in the comments section of a post fellow Bachelor in Paradise cast member John Paul Jones had made, according to Us Weekly.
"Some things just take time," John Paul captioned an artistic photo of himself on October 10, to which Clay commented, "I learned engagements aren't supposed to."
Clay was obviously referring to how Nicole broke up with him because he wasn't ready to propose after their Bachelor in Paradise experience.
Nicole then reportedly joked that not everything can take as long as Clay's gym sessions, which prompted an Instagram user to call Nicole "a moron."
"He straight-up went on two shows where the sole purpose is to find The One and then he's out here 'confused' when he applied for these reality dating shows himself (which are accelerated -- it's literally in the synopsis of said shows)," Nicole wrote, according to Us, before she mentioned Clay's ex Angela Amezcua.
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RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW"And then led Angela and I on because he's scared of commitment and won't settle down until he's in his 40s because he's The Bachelor of Chicago and did these two shows for clout to see if he'd gain 15 minutes of fame and get back into his failed NFL career, but OK."
Clay -- a free agent in the NFL who previously signed with five professional teams dating back to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2010 -- then fired back at Nicole in his Tuesday Twitter rant.
"I wasn't even gonna respond to the comments but what I will say is my failed NFL career was 3 times the average career length. I'm extremely proud of the work I put in to accomplish that goal of playing NFL football for the better part of a decade," Clay tweeted.
"For a poor kid from the sticks of Dwight Illinois that wasn't even supposed to go to college. I was able to change mine and family's entire situation. That's what motivated me, and that's what I did."
After insisting he wanted to contact Nicole after Bachelor in Paradise, he defended his split from Angela in April.
"As far as Angela is concerned, Angela and I met and dated completely off camera and we decided to break up," Clay explained.
"Everyone on the show has broken up otherwise they wouldn't be on the show. A big reason I decided to end things was not to waste her time or lead her on. (I was also told she wouldn't be in paradise but that's another story.)"
Angela entered the dating scene on Bachelor in Paradise's sixth season pretty late. While she had a brief romance with Chase McNary, but individuals left Mexico single.
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Nicole's hard feelings toward Clay, however, are definitely not new. The Miami native bashed him in September after Bachelor in Paradise's finale aired on TV.
"When a man's actions don't line up with his words, when a man's promises fall flat, and when a man dares to string you along (whether it's for 16 days or for 8 months) knowing very well he does not see a future with you -- we are better off on our own than loving a man who doesn't know what he has when he has it," Nicole wrote on Instagram at the time.
"I know it's scary, but sometimes, the bravest thing we can ever do is love ourselves first. If that means to run, then run."
She added, "Ladies, we don't have to put up with anything less than wonderful. We are worthy of someone's complete and all-encompassing respect, time, love, honesty, and energy."
Clay also issued a statement of his own on Twitter to share his side of the story, and he essentially suggested Nicole had overreacted to his decision not to get engaged.
"I basically explained why I didn't think we were far enough along to get engaged and that I really did want to continue to date and wished her luck with her new relationship," Clay tweeted in reply.
"Comparing relationships is not apples to apples. The truth is I was starting to fall in love but I did not want to lie and say I was all the way there until I was. I wanted to leave the beach with Nicole and see what real everyday life had in store for us."
Clay explained how he wanted to meet her family and friends and grow together as a couple.
"And if we were ready to get engaged, we would. I've always told myself I am asking one person one time to marry me. I just didn't think we made it far enough YET. I completely expected her to leave with me but she wanted something else," Clay continued.
"I won't sacrifice who I am for anyone and especially not a TV show. I completely stand behind my decisions that last night on the beach and like I said before, I'm happy Nicole has moved on. She deserves happiness."
Although Bachelor in Paradise ended badly for Clay and Nicole, the following three couples from Season 6 got engaged and appear to still be together: Hannah Godwin and Dylan Barbour, Chris Bukowski and Katie Nolan, and Demi Burnett and Kristian Haggerty.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
