Robby Hayes has dished the nitty-gritty details of his split from ex-girlfriend Hope Higginbotham with the hope he can finally move on from the controversy.
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Since The Bachelorette premiered, Hayes has been plagued by months of rumors he broke up with Higginbotham to appear on the reality dating series and hopefully become famous. Despite his persistent denials on the show, fans speculated Hayes was lying because photos on social media seem to contradict his story. (Not to mention a production source recently threw him under the bus).
On The Bachelorette, Hayes told JoJo Fletcher he broke up with Higginbotham in December 2015, however, Instagram photos showed the pair appearing to spend Christmas and New Year's together.
Adding fuel to the fire, Hayes told Fletcher in a conversation -- which was filmed in late April -- that his relationship with Higginbotham was basically over nine months prior, yet there were pictures of Hayes and his ex vacationing together in Italy in Fall 2015.
On Tuesday, Reality TV World got to the bottom of things and went directly to the source, Hayes himself.
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When asked to set the record straight on his romance with Higginbotham, Hayes replied, "Of course, and I appreciate that [opportunity]."
"So Hope and I dated for about three-and-a-half years. We broke up probably four different times. It was an on and off relationship, and three of the years were long distance. We didn't see each other that much," Hayes told Reality TV World.
"I said the relationship really ended nine months beforehand because we broke up in March 2015, and we were not together for six months, for that whole summer. And then we tried to get back together in September of that year, and it didn't last."
Hayes insisted that even when he was together with Higginbotham, they barely saw each other.
"You know, it was long distance so I saw her about six times in the last three months we were together. It just wasn't working. So, it was really over in March before that point because in those last few months when we tried to make it work, it was already a failed relationship," Hayes explained.
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Fletcher's runner-up on The Bachelorette then revealed "the straw that broke the camel's back" in his relationship with Higginbotham.
"As I'm sure you heard on the show, she slapped me. I just sat myself down and said, 'Robby, you're 27. It's not working. We tried and tried and tried to make it work. Get out of it now,'" Hayes said. "So, I got out of it and that was the end of it."
Hayes told reporters he officially dumped Higginbotham in "December, early January" and he has "not said one word" to her since -- despite claims from The Bachelorette villain Chad Johnson he had threatened her not to speak to the press about their relationship.
"You know, she was a big part of my past," Hayes noted, "but that's just what she is now, she's in my past."
Hayes added he has no intention to speak to Higginbotham ever again and he's proud of himself for taking the high road when it comes to her fling with Johnson, who had posted photos of the couple making out on Instagram, clearly as a form of revenge against Hayes.
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Check back with Reality TV World soon for more from Hayes' post-The Bachelorette interview, as well as interviews with Fletcher and her fiance Jordan Rodgers.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski