The Bachelor alum Peter Weber has denied that his famously-outspoken mother Barbara Weber played a big role in his recent split from girlfriend Kelley Flanagan.
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A source recently told Entertainment Tonight that Barbara was a "major issue" in Peter and Kelley's relationship, adding, "Barb was very involved and expected to be a major priority within Peter and Kelley's relationship."
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But Peter has shut down those rumors and claimed his mother was nothing but supportive of his post-The Bachelor romance with Chicago-based Kelley, who finished in fifth place on Peter's season.
"Kelley and I broke up two weeks ago," Peter told ET on Monday about the split he only publicly announced four days earlier.
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"I flew to Chicago and was finished with the relationship, then my mom really encouraged us to be in the relationship if we wanted to be and to not give up."
Peter clarified, "Kelley and I operate on two different frequencies, and one isn't better or worse than the other; we're just two different people, and those differences surfaced after eight months of dating. But I loved her like crazy, and my mom really cared about her."
The California pilot announced his split with Kelley on December 31, writing on Instagram that their relationship "simply didn't work out in the end."
And Kelley posted her own message to fans on Instagram several days later.
"Peter and I had some unbelievable times together and they will definitely be missed. Unfortunately him and I are in two different stages of our lives and saw our future paths differently," Kelley wrote.
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A source close to the situation told ET that Peter and Kelley's relationship broke down right before they were supposed to move to New York City together.
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Peter revealed on his Instagram Stories in late December that he and Kelley planned to move to New York City together in January 2021, and the pair first teased their big plans in June 2020.
"The move was the final straw in some ongoing issues in their relationship; the biggest of which was that they were not on the same page about how they approached relationships," the source explained.
The source added there was no cheating and Peter was the person who initiated the breakup, although Kelley was well aware they had problems.
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"There was growth that needed to happen from Peter that wasn't happening," the source told ET.
Barbara commented on Peter and Kelley's breakup shortly after the couple publicly announced it.
"Love can be fickle and it is not for the timid," Barbara wrote on Instagram.
"Those who have experienced it know this all too well. But it is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all. Our hearts ache for you two. Kelley will always have a piece of our hearts and we wish her only the best. Mom and Dad."
An insider told Us Weekly that Kelly could see the breakup coming.
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"He really cared for her and he really loved her. They were together all the time, so there was no way either one could've cheated," the insider said.
"Their personalities just didn't mix -- that was a big factor for the breakup. They also fought and had many disagreements and didn't see eye to eye at times."
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The insider added that Barbara was actually a "huge fan" of Kelley, both as an individual and as a match for her son, and that "Peter's family loved Kelley."
Barbara told Life & Style in late July 2020 that she thought Peter and Kelley were "very compatible."
"The most important [thing], I think, in any relationship is to really have fun with each other and they definitely do have fun with each other," Barbara shared at the time.
Peter sent Kelley packing on The Bachelor's 24th season, which aired in early 2020, right before his Final 4 bachelorettes' hometown dates. Peter ultimately proposed marriage to Hannah Ann at the Final Rose Ceremony.
The March finale of The Bachelor showed Barbara ecstatic over Peter's choice, and so her world seemingly came crashing down when she watched footage of Peter ending his engagement because he still had lingering feelings for Madison Prewett, who broke Peter's heart by quitting the competition before the Final Rose Ceremony.
Peter and Madison then reunited and reconciled during the live The Bachelor: After the Final Rose broadcast, and Barbara complained her family didn't have a connection with Madison while Hannah Ann was "so organic" and "loving" towards them.
"We had just come across the country -- or excuse me, across the world -- and we were exhausted and we were just getting used to the time there. And we had to wait three hours [for Madison]," Barbara explained to Chris Harrison on the finale.
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"When she did come in, the whole family, we didn't get an apology from her, and when I proceeded to ask her if she was madly in love with my son, she said, 'No,' and that she would not accept a proposal in four days."
Barbara added, "So how do you expect a mother who loves her son with all of her heart to take that? I couldn't... Unfortunately, we did not have a connection with Madison."
Just two short days after The Bachelor's Season 24 finale aired on ABC, Peter and Madison released separate statements via Instagram announcing they had decided to call it quits on their revived romance and go their separate ways.
Peter told ET in March that Barbara's treatment of Madison did not influence their breakup.
After a couple of chance-encounters with Kelley, Peter and the attorney reunited to quarantine with each other as "friends" in Chicago in late March 2020, and then a romance quickly developed.
Barbara apparently viewed Kelley as her top The Bachelor pick all season long.
Shortly after the finale aired, Kelley recalled to Us, "[Barbara] waved to me in the stands [at the finale] and then she tried to pull me down and she asked one of the producers, 'Hey! Can you go get her? I want to meet her!'"
"So one of the producers came and grabbed me and she just started hugging me profusely... She was like, 'You were my favorite since Day 1! I love you! You're beautiful!'" Kelley said.
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Barbara went on to appear in many Instagram photos and TikTok videos with the new couple.
And Barbara gushed about how happy her son seemed to be while dating Kelley, with whom Peter went Instagram official on May 2 when the California native posted a sweet photo of the couple embracing in the cockpit of a small plane.
"[I've] never seen my son like this before, ever," Barbara told Life & Style last year.
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"To me, that's just the greatest gift -- to see him so involved and so in love and so happy. He's just over the moon and he always tells me that she's the best thing that's ever happened to him."
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