The Bachelorette finalist Brandon Jones has revealed the moment in which he realized he was definitely -- and madly -- in love with Michelle Young.
ADVERTISEMENT
Brandon, who will be shown competing for Michelle's final rose against Nayte Olukoya on Tuesday night's The Bachelorette finale, dished on when he realized his feelings for Michelle had surpassed infatuation during a recent episode of the "Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation" podcast hosted by The Bachelorette alums Bryan Abasolo and Mike Johnson.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
"Whenever she's going through something or whatever emotion she has, you can tell by her eyes," Brandon said of Michelle. "Her eyes literally say everything. They speak all the facts that she's feeling."
Brandon said he could see the pain behind Michelle's eyes once she eliminated Rodney Mathews following the men's hometown dates.
ADVERTISEMENT
"You could see it in her eyes, 'That was one of the most painful goodbyes I've ever had to do so far,'" Brandon recalled.
Brandon suggested one or more of Michelle's other bachelors were about the "numbers" and saw "less numbers" -- once Rodney was sent packing -- as a positive in the reality TV dating process.
"I don't want to name names," Brandon noted.
He shared, "To me, that's when I realized and I knew that I truly loved Michelle. And telling her that I love her before going into Fantasy Suites, that's when I knew, like, 'Your happiness from now on comes before mine -- and I'll always put you before me.'"
Mike asked for clarification, "At which moment?... At the moment when Michelle was distraught sending Rodney home, is that when you knew?"
ADVERTISEMENT
"That's when I knew, yeah," Brandon confirmed of being in love with Michelle.
"That's when I knew. It didn't even matter being sent home; what mattered most was Michelle and her thoughts and her feelings and what she was going through. I mean, she's alone in this. We have the guys but she's by herself. So it's like, 'Who can she talk to?'"
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Although Brandon has been in love before, he admitted, "I thought I knew what love was until I met Michelle."
Brandon subsequently made a controversial move after Fantasy Suites.
ADVERTISEMENT
Just as Michelle was about to hand out a rose to Nayte, Joe Coleman or himself, Brandon pulled the Bachelorette aside for a private conversation.
Brandon offered Michelle some sweet and comforting words, which made her other two Final 3 bachelors as well as home viewers a little skeptical of his intentions.
Fans questioned if it was a sneaky last-ditch effort on Brandon's part to secure one of Michelle's two roses, but according to Brandon, that absolutely wasn't the case.
"The thing about Michelle is I want her to be my wife, I want her to be my future... and seeing her face after she came back in after letting Rodney go, I saw all this hurt because she realized, like, 'Wow, this is getting extremely hard now.' And so, I realized once you go to Fantasy Suites, connections and relationships get stronger and stronger and stronger," Brandon shared.
"I just realized if I was in her position, I would want someone to make sure that I was okay going into making that extremely tough decision."
ADVERTISEMENT
RELATED LINK: CLAYTON ECHARD'S 'THE BACHELOR' SEASON 26 BACHELORETTES ANNOUNCED -- MEET THE WOMEN! (PHOTOS)
Brandon insisted the gesture was "not a Hail Mary."
"It wasn't me trying to take one last step because I thought things were going bad. It was nothing like that. It was 100 percent me being me," Brandon said.
Brandon apparently recognized Michelle sending Nayte, Joe or himself home would be even "tougher" than the emotional Rodney elimination.
"You saw how hurt she was when letting Joe go," Brandon said, adding that he wanted Michelle to know he'd still love her and be there for her if she chose to send him home before the Final 2.
"I wanted to let her know, 'You're going through something as difficult as hell right now, and I could never, ever imagine.' Breaking someone's heart, that's tough."
On last week's The Bachelorette episode, Brandon reminded Michelle before the Rose Ceremony that she was -- and would continue to be -- his priority.
"Michelle, when I told you that I put you first, I put you first. When I told you that I love you, and when I told you were truly becoming my best friend, I truly mean that I will be here for you, regardless of what happens to me," Brandon told Michelle, who was crying.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
"Today might be my last day, but I just wanted to at least look you in the eye and just make sure that the woman I love more than anything is okay."
After the emotional conversation, Michelle handed out a rose to Nayte and then Brandon, even though she was admittedly in love with all three men.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I am in shock. I am in a pretty big shock right now," Joe confessed in his final words, wiping tears out of his eyes. "I didn't see that coming. I really thought she was my person."
As Michelle was shown nearly falling to her knees and sobbing in her hands after dumping Joe, he told the camera, "I'm wondering what Brandon said. I really have no idea. I have no idea. You open your whole heart and then this happens."
Joe wasn't sure if what Brandon had said changed Michelle's mind.
Going into The Bachelorette finale on December 21, both Brandon and Nayte are "in love" with Michelle and picture a future with her, but only one man will receive her final rose and potentially propose marriage.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!