The Bachelor star Chris Soules is apparently still sympathetic towards Kelsey Poe even though he's gotten the chance to watch her on TV.

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"There's been a lot said about Kelsey this week. And I know a lot of you are questioning why I kept her around in Santa Fe. What you have to understand is, to me Kelsey seemed like a kind, sweet person with a very sad past. I didn't feel like I was being manipulated to feel sorry for her, and I was glad when she opened up to me about her past," Soules wrote in his People blog.

"I will admit, though, that her fainting spell did feel a little off. It's hard to explain, but the timing did seem strange. However, that wasn't enough of a reason for me to say goodbye to her that night."

Soules ended up taking Poe on a two-on-one date with the most emotional girl in the house, Ashley Iaconetti, who had it out for the "fake and conniving" Poe. Their date starting with a tour of the Badlands in a helicopter, and the Bachelor said he could physically feel the tension between the two women.

"I felt like me sitting in between them was the only thing keeping the girls from strangling each other. What some of you might not know is that the ride was two hours... I didn't know how to handle the situation because I felt like if I even looked at one of the girls longer than the other, crazy jealousy would ensue, and this two-on-one date would turn into a dramatic wrestling match between two women, resulting in a chopper crash in the Badlands with me in it," Soules wrote.

"Therefore, I spent the majority of the time not looking at, or touching, either of the girls in order to ensure the safety of all who were aboard this steamy chopper full of hate. I know most every man in America thinks he would love to be the Bachelor. Well, I got news for all of you Bachelor hopefuls out there: It ain't easy."

Although Soules chose to eliminate Iaconetti after she divulged some dramatic complaints about Poe's character and personality, the Bachelor insisted her desire to talk about drama wasn't what sent her home. In fact, Soules wished he had told Andi Dorfman the truth about some of her guys on The Bachelorette.

"I think [Andi] had a right to know. I think it's important to know how the people you're dating act in social situations, and what it's like to live with them. So I appreciated Ashley telling me the truth... I want to reiterate that it had NOTHING to do with her telling me about Kelsey, but I do feel she was just not ready for the kind of commitment I'm ready for. Also, like I said to her, I just couldn't imagine her being happy in my world," he said.

Soules explained the reason he appeared to rat out Iaconetti during his conversation with Poe was because he thought Poe "deserved the opportunity to defend herself."

"I wanted to hear her out. Honestly, there was just something about the way Kelsey was talking that made me feel like she was being insincere. Her responses seemed almost calculated, and I felt the same weird way I'd felt when she was having her panic attack in New Mexico," Soules said.

"I didn't end things with Kelsey because of what Ashley told me. It certainly reinforced what I was already feeling, but I had mixed emotions seeing the girls' reaction to Kelsey's bag being taken away. On the one hand, it made me feel like I made the right decision in sending her home. On the other hand, I felt bad because I'm sure seeing the girls' reactions will hurt Kelsey."

Even now that Soules' journey on The Bachelor is over, he admitted he's still confused about who Poe was as a person.

"And while I know she isn't my wife, and I still do question some of the things she said and did, I really do wish her the best. That woman has been through a lot," he noted.

Also during Monday night's broadcast, Soules sent Samantha Steffen and Mackenzie Deonigi packing. He noted it definitely wasn't easy after such a tough week.

"Unfortunately, I just never really connected with Samantha, and, as far as Mackenzie goes, there's a bit of a story to that. I never really knew how old any of the girls were. Let's face it: It's not polite to ask a woman's age," Soules began.

"But the week before in L.A., Mackenzie had shown me part of her diary from when she was younger, and the problem was, the dates she was in middle school were the same dates I was in college... [I] decided I would give myself a little more time to get to know her because of how much I liked her early on. Unfortunately, our connection did not grow, and that combined with our age difference was enough for me to say goodbye."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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