The Golden Bachelorette runner-up Guy Gansert has revealed if he was ready to propose marriage to Joan Vassos at the time she dumped him.
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Joan eliminated Guy in second place before her Final Rose Ceremony in Bora Bora.
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Guy didn't even have a chance to meet Joan's family before she selected Chock Chapple as her winner, but according to the Nevada-based ER doctor, he was totally ready to pop the question.
"After the Fantasy Suite night, [I was sold on Joan]. That whole day and that night, that's when I said, 'Okay, we talked about everything. We've covered all the important variables that you need to talk about, really, as an adult,'" Guy recalled during a recent appearance on the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast.
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"And then I journaled and I said, 'You know what? I feel great. I am ready to do this. I am ready to get down on a knee.'"
After Fantasy Suites, Guy apparently viewed meeting Joan's children as a huge opportunity.
"I was ready that day to talk to her kids. I was so excited to see her kids, because I thought they'd love me," Guy admitted.
Guy laughed and noted how he clearly has "confidence."
Joan's runner-up then continued, "But I just felt like we have so many similar interests and values that it's like, 'This is going to work.' I said, 'This is going to happen.' And I was going to ask her kids for their blessing."
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Guy imagined his day with Joan's family was going to bring about beautiful results.
"I wanted to see real emotion from her children, like, 'We really like you' -- not, like, 'He seems like an okay guy.' I wanted them to really know me, my family, and what I represent," Guy explained.
"But unfortunately, I never had that opportunity."
When thinking back to his breakup with Joan, Guy said The Golden Bachelorette star's knock on his door in Bora Bora was very unexpected.
"I should've been thinking, 'This is not good,' but I was just so happy to see her, and I was excited!" Guy shared.
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Guy admitted he had believed, in that moment, that Joan was going to share some good news with him.
"I was hoping she was actually going to tell me, 'You know what? I thought about this and I think that you're my guy and I'm going to let the other guy go,'" Guy confessed.
"That's what I was thinking for two thirds of [our meeting]. Then, she got this look on her face, and you could see my facial expression go from a smile to a forlorn look."
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Guy said Joan had told him how wonderful he was and how there was "nothing wrong" with him -- but that her heart simply belonged to someone else.
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"That's when I got really emotional, because from that morning, I had said, 'I'm going all in. I'm getting on a knee. I'm going to propose. I'm going to ask for her hand in marriage,'" Guy admitted.
"I was, like, convinced. And in 30 minutes, that balloon burst and it was over."
Guy acknowledged that he's "a very emotional guy" to begin with and so the breakup was a brutal experience for him.
"When I decided I was all in, that was devastating. It was heartbreaking to me, and you can see it," Guy said.
The ER doctor joked about how the editing of the finale was actually "very kind" to him when reflecting back on his meltdown.
"I sobbed for minutes. It wasn't for 10 seconds or something. I could not stop sobbing because I was so convinced that I was the guy and this was going to happen, and I was so happy," Guy confessed.
"And for it to have come to that conclusion, it was so difficult."
Guy confirmed that Joan "felt awful" about dumping him and he'd never want her to feel that way because he loves her.
"I absolutely love her. I know now, after many months, I will always love Joan. I just can't be 'in love' with Joan," Guy shared.
"So I didn't want her to feel bad... I said, 'Joan, please don't worry about me. I am going to be okay.' But we've all been through difficult things in our lives, so I knew that I would be able to handle it."
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Guy, however, definitely "wasn't happy" about the breakup, and he had predicted that it would "take time" to heal.
"But I knew I'd get through it," Guy concluded. "And I'm still in that process because when I watched the show... it was a little more difficult than I anticipated."
Guy and Chock, however, have managed to stay friends, and Joan recently pitched the idea of Guy becoming The Golden Bachelor's next star.
Joan and Chock, meanwhile, appear to be a happy couple who are thriving in the real world after their engagement aired on ABC.
Joan and Chock said they're going to spend the holidays together with Joan's family in Maryland and then begin apartment hunting in New York City.
Joan and Chock said they'd like to have a convenient meet-up spot where they can spend time together in the Big Apple.
Joan and Chock also shared how they have many international trips planned for 2025 -- including stops in Africa and France -- and they envision a televised wedding in late 2025 or early 2026.
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