Kristina Schulman's elimination clearly tore The Bachelor star Nick Viall up inside.
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During Monday night's episode, Viall embarked on a group date with Schulman, Raven Gates and Corinne Olympios in Bimini, the closest Bahamian island to the United States. Because Schulman and the Bachelor had just enjoyed a romantic and intimate one-on-one date in St. Thomas, Olympios admitted to the cameras she felt like a third wheel and his attention was focused on the Russian beauty.
"Reconnecting with Kristina after such an amazing one-on-one the week prior just solidified the strong feelings I really felt," Viall wrote in his People blog.
"The emotional connection I felt with Kristina started later than most of the women there in Bimini, but it was certainly something I was excited about. I felt so good about each conversation I had."
However, Viall gave the group-date rose to Gates, which made a huge statement considering it meant the Bachelor would be traveling to her hometown of Hoxie, AR.
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"There was only one woman that I felt totally ready for such a big step with. And that was Raven," Viall admitted.
Afterward, The Bachelor star ended up saying goodbye to Danielle Maltby on their second one-on-one date together. While he said her goodbye was "difficult and heartbreaking," he knew he "had one more goodbye."
And that person was Schulman, a 24-year-old Russian beauty and dental hygienist from Lexington, KY, with adoptive parents. When Viall realized she needed to go next, he confessed in his blog, "I felt like my heart was breaking into a millions pieces."
When Viall reflected on the five women remaining at this point in the season, he "kept coming back" to Schulman.
"I felt so strongly for Kristina. She melted my heart in so many ways, but I just knew deep down I had stronger connections with the other women," Viall explained in his blog.
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"I couldn't stand the idea of taking Kristina further only for it not to work out. As hard as it would be to say goodbye to her now, it would have been 100 times harder for both of us if I took a leap and then said goodbye in another week. That goodbye was easily the most difficult moment I had up until that point."
Schulman was angry and confused over her ouster. She told the Bachelor he didn't give her a fair chance, nor did he understand what she has to offer a man considering he let her go.
Viall shed the most tears over Schulman's exit so far this season, revealing, "It was hard to process how I felt knowing how deeply I cared for her. I just had to trust myself that I was making the right decision."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski