The Golden Bachelorette's Pascal Ibgui has explained why he decided to quit on Joan Vassos before their overnight Fantasy Suite instead of allowing their connection more time to develop.
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Pascal could have stayed on The Golden Bachelorette longer and spent the night with Joan in private and off-camera in a Fantasy Suite to see if their romance could deepen.
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But the 69-year-old salon owner from Chicago, IL, chose to quit The Golden Bachelorette process before enjoying the overnight portion of his date with Joan in Tahiti.
Pascal explained to TheWrap that he decided to leave before the Fantasy Suite to avoid any public misconception that he stuck around just for physical intimacy or chose to leave because "the sex wasn't good."
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Pascal apparently didn't want to give The Golden Bachelorette trolls a chance to judge or criticize him for disrespecting Joan or treating her poorly.
When Pascal quit, the told Joan over dinner that he didn't feel "a spark" with her and he wasn't falling in love with her.
Pascal was admittedly guarded during his The Golden Bachelorette journey because he was still hurting from a broken relationship that had ended about a year prior with a woman whom he truly loved.
But Pascal told Joan on numerous occasions that he was trying to open up and that their relationship was headed in the right direction, especially after his children welcomed The Golden Bachelorette star with open arms.
"We went to the hometown and I had a good connection with Joan. I felt comfortable and my kids felt comfortable with her," Ibgui told TheWrap.
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"I didn't know I was going to get the rose -- it was four guys in the equation, and so I went and had great time, and then she choose me to go with the island, but I was guarded."
Joan eliminated Jordan Heller and selected Pascal, Charles "Chock" Chapple and Guy Gansert as her Final 3 bachelors for Fantasy Suite Week.
Pascal confessed that he felt like he "didn't spend enough time with" Joan "to really get to know her" prior to their Fantasy Suite date.
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And so when Joan and Pascal were asked to participate in a spiritual Tahitian bonding ceremony, which was very intense and emotional, Pascal's fears and doubts boiled over.
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"I think if she would have take me to scuba diving, or... skydiving, I think I [would] have been much more comfortable than going into a wedding [and] doing our vows," Pascal said, comparing the ceremony to a wedding.
"I freaked out -- I just felt like I wasn't ready."
Pascal therefore went into the evening portion of his date with Joan feeling uneasy.
"I [needed] to end it, because I felt like there... were two guys [who were] very much in love, so I felt like it was not fair to me to stay knowing that I cannot really give her what she's looking for," Pascal explained.
"That's when I decided to leave," he added.
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Pascal noted that Joan couldn't have changed his mind in that moment, even if she had asked him to stay.
"She's a beautiful woman, she's kind, she's sweet, she's smart [but] something was missing for me," Pascal concluded.
At dinner, Pascal told Joan that he was having a difficult time letting go of his past love, whom he almost got engaged to. (Pascal and this woman had broken up multiple times but were crazy about each other).
"I care very much about you, and the last thing I want to do is to hurt you. I just don't think I can get to the place where you want me to be," Pascal told Joan.
He continued, "I'm having a very difficult time because I know what love is. I've experienced it and you've experienced it -- and I care about you as a friend, but I'm not in love, you know? And I just can't be there."
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Pascal told The Golden Bachelorette star that while they laughed and had a good time together, he wasn't feeling a romantic draw to her.
"We need a spark, and I just don't have it... I thought I could move forward, but I'm not ready," Pascal explained.
Pascal could sense that Joan was very hurt and wasn't okay, and so he snapped in a confessional that he wasn't okay either. He swore at the cameras and shooed them away.
"I hate hurting people. I am hurt right now. I'm hurting because I hurt her, and I feel terrible about that right now -- terrible," Pascal explained in a confessional.
Pascal hugged Joan goodbye, and he asked her to be safe and take care of herself. He also noted how he was just a phone call away.
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Joan whispered to Pascal, "I love you," on his way out, and he replied -- but in a platonic manner -- "I love you, too. Goodbye."
Joan admitted the breakup was really hurtful, and she explained, "Pascal [basically said] he knew how to love and that I wasn't lovable. It's hard to be vulnerable again, once you've been hurt, so the walls are up again and I feel like a failure."
Joan acknowledged that she had been hopeful but now her hope was "down to nothing."
"I might leave with nobody. That could happen," Joan cried to The Golden Bachelorette cameras. "I was afraid coming into this, but then my fears started getting better. And now I am afraid again."
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