The Bachelor star Joey Graziadei has revealed if he regrets not asking Lexi Young to stay and give him more time to determine if he could envision having kids sooner rather than later.
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Lexi quit The Bachelor while the cast was in Montreal, Canada because Joey said he'd like to wait years before getting married and welcoming children, whereas Lexi must try to conceive in the near future due to her ongoing battle with endometriosis, which can cause infertility issues.
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When asked if he wishes he had begged Lexi to stay on the show, Joey told E! News, "No, because if you really look at that conversation and get down to the nitty gritty, you can understand that I did explain to her that I was open to a different timeline if it's something that we would talk about more."
"And she just didn't feel like it was something that we could get on the same page with," he continued, "and I'm completely okay with that."
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Joey noted "what's most important" is that Lexi "got to speak her truth."
He added, "[She got to] end it on her own terms, and I think that's something really special that a lot of women don't get to do through this process."
The Bachelor star therefore concluded, "I have no regrets there and have nothing but respect for Lexi, and I obviously know she'll be an amazing mother someday -- and that's what she deserves."
Lexi, who had her eggs frozen less than two weeks before appearing on Joey's The Bachelor season, may not be able to have children of her own due to endometriosis, which is an incurable disease of the reproduction system.
While Joey told Lexi that he definitely wants to have kids, he said he'd like to have a two-to-three year engagement and then be married for a couple of years before bringing a baby into the picture.
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Lexi, meanwhile, would like to start a family as soon as possible since she may have trouble carrying a child. She is also due for another endometriosis surgery in the near future.
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"My doctor wants me to have my second surgery as close as possible to the time I want to try to start conceiving," Lexi recently shared on Instagram, explaining her timeline for starting a family.
"Having a third or fourth surgery later on could cause a lot of scar tissue. I am kind of in a place right now of a waiting game. I'm in a lot of pain. I'm not in a place to have children right now. I am hopefully going to be there soon, but I just can't have the surgery at this moment."
Joey was very supportive of the fact Lexi lives with endometriosis and may always have symptoms and pain from it. Lexi cried because Joey had handled the news so well and comforted her instead of running.
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When Lexi broke up with Joey, she unexpectedly showed up at his hotel room in Montreal and expressed her concerns about how long he wanted to wait to have kids.
Lexi explained how Joey's timeline for having children was not something she had the privilege of doing due to her health crisis.
"As someone who has infertility, I have to take that really seriously as I date, knowing I'm in my thirties now. [Having a kid] is something that's going to have to happen at a little bit of a faster pace for me," Lexi explained to The Bachelor star.
Lexi therefore concluded, "I think it would be unfair of me to [have you] keep me here when I'm just on a different timeline."
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Joey admitted he was "stunned" by her decision to leave him. He told Lexi that he'd never forget their one-on-one date in Malta and, up to that point, he had zero doubts that he could see a future with her.
"I never felt scared when you said that," Joey insisted to the bachelorette. "If anything, the only thing I felt... was, 'Does that mean she needs to have kids now? Because I need to get my head wrapped around that.'"
Lexi was very emotional when dumping Joey, who in turn admitted he was "crushed" by the news.
"I hate this. This isn't what I had in my head of what I thought was going to happen... But you're going to get everything that you want, and you're going to make a remarkable mother," Joey told Lexi.
Once Lexi's departure aired on ABC, she took to Instagram and posted a lengthy message to fans about how she was grateful to have been able to share her story, and she thanked Bachelor Nation for receiving it so well.
On The Bachelor's latest episode, Joey narrowed down his pool of bachelorettes to only four women: Daisy Kent, Kelsey Anderson, Maria Georgas, and Rachel Nance. He had eliminated Jenn Tran and Kelsey Toussant in Jasper, Canada.
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Click here to learn more about Joey's The Bachelor bachelorettes or click here to read spoilers that reveal how Joey's season ends and who he picked as his winner.
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