The Bachelor bachelorette Rachel Truehart, a 27-year-old fashion sales representative from New York City, NY, was eliminated along with Emily O'Brien, a 27-year-old PhD student from Chapel Hill, NC, during last Monday night's Rose Ceremony by Ben Flajnik --  narrowing The Bachelor star's love search to four women during the ABC reality dating series' sixteenth season.

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On Friday, Rachel talked to Reality TV World about her The Bachelor experience and "slow burning" relationship with Ben that came to an end just before she would have brought him home to meet her family -- including what surprising details she shared about her relationship with Courtney Robertson while she was on the show and how that dynamic has since changed, why she didn't confront Ben about Courtney's behavior or speak up when Nicki Sterling and Kacie Boguskie addressed their concerns, and why she felt the show's producers blew Casey Shteamer's situation out of proportion.  

Below is the second portion of our exclusive interview with Rachel. Click here to read the first half.

Reality TV World: Why do you think it was that Emily O'Brien was the only bachelorette to confront Ben about Courtney until this week's episode when Kacie and Nicki voiced their concerns during their group date with Ben? Did you also voice some concerns about Courtney during that group date with Kacie and Nicki, or were you, like maybe some of the other girls as well, just kind of scared to talk to Ben about it or something?

Rachel Truehart: You know, that was the first week where I started to see it in Courtney that something was a little bit off. I actually was one of very few girls that got along with her fine during most of the taping, and so, I didn't really have a problem with her.

She wasn't mean to me. I wasn't mean to her. We just kind of got along great in the beginning and then she pulled away and she was very [unintelligible] with me. I was even a little bit like hurt by some of the things that I've seen her say.

She seems like she categorizes all of us as being "vanilla," like she said, or "boring" or that we're all so beneath her. I think that's really rude and it's distasteful to say -- just to kind of throw us all under the bus. I think she talked just as badly about us as -- probably even more so -- than anyone said to him.

Everyone's always saying, "Oh, why would we say anything to Courtney?" She talks about the other girls a lot as well, I think. She talks badly of us. And so, I don't know why he really didn't see that she was kind of doing the same thing, and when we were on that group date and Nicki and Kacie B. -- we all talked about that -- talking to him before we actually did.

That was when I was first starting to see it. I didn't really want to be the one to be like, "Don't fall for her." I was present for it but I wasn't really like actively saying, "Tread lightly," or whatever else was said.

Reality TV World: When I talked to Emily, she said she saw red flags while dating Ben. For example, she thought he wasn't very receptive or respectful of her opinions when she had confronted him about her Courtney concerns. Did you come across any red flags in your mind while you were dating Ben? 

Rachel Truehart: Red flags. I sort of felt like -- I think when you're dating somebody, you want them to kind of woo you a little bit, you know? I always felt like I was having to plead my case to him or something like that. I sometimes didn't feel like he was really there with me -- like he was somewhere else or something.

I didn't get that attentiveness feeling from him sometimes. It just made me feel like he wasn't really into the date or something, and I don't know, I guess that could be a little bit of a red flag.

As far as being in a long-term relationship, he mentioned -- it seemed like he is somebody who still wants to have his own life and he wants to be able to go back and forth and have his own life and then have a girlfriend kind of on the side. I don't know why, but I just kind of got that feeling.

Reality TV World: Emily also basically said she probably should have walked out the door when Ben didn't seem to respect her opinions about Courtney and told her to "tread lightly." What are your thoughts about that -- do you think that would have been a big warning flag for you and do you think you would have left the show if Ben had done that to you?

Rachel Truehart: Yeah, you know, I remember when that happened. I spoke to her right after she had her one-on-one time in Puerto Rico and she told me that. It was bizarre because it seemed like if that was Courtney saying that to him, he would have responded totally different, saying "I'm so sorry you're having a hard time. What can I do? Always come to me," those kind of things.

And he didn't at all and I don't think that's something that a boyfriend should -- if the girl you're dating is upset, you should be concerned about it and worried about it and want to help her and give her good advice, not kind of scold her and warn her. So, I think that's definitely a red flag. We probably all should have thought about that a little bit more.

Reality TV World: During your two-on-one date with Blakeley Shea, you called her "tacky" because of the way she was dancing with Ben. When I talked to Blakeley last week, she said your comment didn't bother her, but she didn't know how she was tacky since you both were dancing in dresses in Panama and doing the same routine. She said if she was tacky, then you were too. What's your response to that? Do you still stand by what you said or do you feel differently looking back on the situation now?

Rachel Truehart: Yeah, I really don't stand by that. She was completely right. We did the exact same routine and we had to put our leg around him. That was actually in the routine, so I'm honestly not even sure why I was calling her tacky. (Laughs)

I think maybe I was just getting a little caught up in the competition, which is bound to happen when you're on a date where you're facing elimination. So, I think you kind of, I don't know, throw some words around that you don't fully mean. (Laughs)

Reality TV World: Casey Shteamer leaving the show and how Chris Harrison and the producers handled that has been a bit of a controversy this season on the show. What did you know about the situation? Had you ever talked to Casey about Michael, her alleged ex-boyfriend, while you were on there, and if so, what did she tell you about him and the current state of their relationship?

Rachel Truehart: Yeah, I had talked to her much earlier on in the season because we would all talk about our ex's sometimes. We obviously had a lot of down time and we would talk about ex's and she had mentioned him and it was completely an ex-boyfriend. It wasn't at all a current guy she was dating.

I think that it was handled very -- I don't know. I don't see why that was necessary. I really don't think that they were dating at all. I think that that guy was just, I don't know. I don't know what he was doing, but I don't know how it actually came about that they found out about him.

I have a feeling it was something that was totally blown out of proportion and it was an ex-boyfriend that -- like she said -- wasn't going to marry her, and so she left him. And of course she still has feelings for him, but she was trying to move on and find somebody new. I don't think that's a bad thing, you know? I think we all had to do that before.

Reality TV World: So based upon what you're saying, it sounds like you don't think Chris should have interceded right? Because I was going to get your opinion on whether you believe the situation in which a bachelorette goes on The Bachelor and may not be over an ex-boyfriend yet is really that unusual or unique.

Rachel Truehart: Yeah, I really don't think that's unique. I think that's a common everyday thing. I mean, I think everyone's been through that where they're not over a past relationship. But you don't go hide in a hole and never date again, you know? You get back out there and you go and try to move on and date somebody new and fall in love with somebody else.

I don't think that's a very unique situation and I don't think it was necessary to butt in and have her leave the way she did. I think that was completely uncalled for.

Reality TV World: You seemed upset, like most of the girls were, when Shawntel Newton returned to fight for Ben. Shawntel said Jennifer Fritsch was the only bachelorette who was nice to her, so what was going through your mind at the time?

Rachel Truehart: You know, that was a rough night. I think because we all went into that -- we had some drama the first couple weeks and we finally had all started liking each other and really growing bonds. There didn't seem to be any drama and we were all so excited going into that Rose Ceremony [thinking] it was going to be fun and we were all going to have a good time.

I think that was also for me, that was the first time I started developing feelings for Ben, when I was on that group date in San Francisco. So, I think because I started to realize, "Okay, I really do have feelings for this guy. Maybe this could be going somewhere." So I think it was just like all of a sudden it came crashing down and I think we all overreacted a little bit.

It wasn't necessary to totally attack her, but at the same time, I also think that the way she came in was just kind of -- she came in with this attitude about her that she was better than all of us and she had this really negative energy and it came off. We all saw it and I think that was why we all reacted the way we did. Obviously they can't show everything that happened that night.

It was a very long night and a very long Rose Ceremony. But yeah, I just think they didn't show how she was towards us. She was also very kind of rude to us and it was very threatening. You just feel that competition in you and you can't help but kind of react a little bit strongly, I guess.

Reality TV World: Looking back, are you glad Ben eliminated Shawntel right away or would you have rathered him kept her around so in the case of him possibly choosing you in the end, you would no he had no unresolved feelings for anyone else?

Rachel Truehart: I think I would have been really upset if he had kept her. One of my closest friends had gone home that night, and so I would have taken it as, "Maybe she would have stayed if Shawntel didn't." So, I think I would have taken it really personally and we already had this thing going on with all the girls.

We were getting along. We were all bonding and I think it would have just thrown a wrench in it to have this new person kind of step in, and it just didn't seem necessary. I think if he really did like her and wanted to move forward, he would have just given her a rose and he would've had her stay.

I think it was pretty clear that he just didn't have feelings for her and it was something that him and I even talked about on our -- we had our one-on-one date the next week -- and he made it quite clear that he really didn't have feelings for her. So I wasn't at all threatened by that and I wouldn't have been worried that maybe there was something unresolved there.

Reality TV World: Are you currently single or dating anyone? How has life been since the show?

Rachel Truehart: Life's been good since the show. I was so happy to get back to New York. I really missed New York and it's been Fashion Week here in New York, so I've been going out and seeing some fun events and what not, but nope. I am currently single and not dating anyone at the moment.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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