The Bachelor star Zach Shallcross has explained his "impossible decision" to break up with Charity Lawson after her hometown date in Georgia.

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"Our hometown date was so much fun. Her family is very welcoming, very sweet, very loving, and it was a hell of a day," Zach told Entertainment Tonight of his visit to Columbus, where Charity's large family and closest friends all gathered together.

"We went line dancing. I really went home with the biggest smile on my face."

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

Charity's parents could see sparks between the bachelorette and Zach, whom they called "a stand-up guy," and Charity admitted she was "falling in love" with Zach at the end of the evening.

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Zach seemed ecstatic about Charity's profession of love at the time, saying it felt "so good" to hear that Charity cared for him that much.

But once Zach had some time to reflect on the hometown dates in Los Angeles, CA, he concluded that Charity wasn't his person and he needed to send her home.

"When I woke up the morning of the Rose Ceremony, I looked at all of my time. The other three women are also equally as great with all different, unique, loving families," Zach explained.

Zach also had Ariel Frenkel, Gabi Elnicki and Kaity Biggar in the picture, all of whom he felt a strong connection with.

"I had to make an actual impossible decision, because at this point, I wouldn't be meeting their families if I didn't see a future with them. There's nothing wrong here," Zach shared of letting Charity go.


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When Zach ultimately denied Charity a rose, he explained that he had felt "sick to my stomach" the entire day leading up to having to say goodbye to her.

"I didn't know what I was going to do, what I was going to say. [I thought], 'How can I actually do this?'" Zach recalled of his decision to break up with the 26-year-old child and family therapist.

"This is the most messed up thing in the world. It's the show I'm in, and I made a decision and just hoped I didn't F up. I just followed what my heart and gut was saying of, 'Rely on your intuition, rely on this.'"

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)

Charity and Zach both cried when they called it quits on their relationship.

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"I want you to know it wasn't until right before this [that I made up my mind]. And I might be making the wrong decision," Zach told the bachelorette.

"No, don't say that," Charity replied.

Charity said she had taken a big risk and put her heart out on the line; however, she called The Bachelor experience "incredible" and "bittersweet."

Zach said Charity deserves a love that he couldn't give her, and he added, "I'm grateful to know you."

Charity lamented to the cameras after her departure, "I don't have words. It doesn't make sense. It makes no f-cking sense to me."


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"Sometimes that's just the way life goes, and it sucks," she continued in tears.

"But it just means I'm one step closer to finding who I need to be with. My biggest fear is someone saying, 'I can't give you the love you deserve,' like, I don't know what that means. I don't know what it freaking means. Oh god."

While sending Charity home was his "hardest" decision up to that point, he told ET that he was confident he could find The One out of his "unique and awesome" remaining three women.

Zach shared of Gabi from Vermont, "She's got this quirky personality and goofy and says the thing that people sometimes aren't supposed to say, but she says it anyways, and it's really funny."

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)  


And Zach said Ariel was "very mysterious" early on, which made him want to tear down her walls.

"[She] caught my attention. After quite a bit of time together and our one-on-one date in Estonia, I was seeing someone totally different," Zach explained of the New York resident.

"It was exciting, and she had so many different layers to her, and I just wanted to get to know her more and more. It was really intriguing."

And Zach felt an "immediate connection" with Kaity, who was born in Canada but currently lives in Austin, TX, where Zach also resides.

"She just exudes this kindness and compassion that I'm really looking for," Zach said.

"She really made that week in London when I was locked up in my room alone, pacing the room by myself, just in my own thoughts, she came to see me and to give me the little gift basket, but also just to let me know that she's thinking of me, and... that meant a lot."


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The Bachelor: The Women Tell All airs Tuesday night on ABC, and based on previews, there will certainly be drama with emotions running high.

Zach said his season was "very overwhelming at times," and he recently teased that fans really need to brace themselves for the Fantasy Suites.

"I'll just say after Women Tell All, overnight week -- Fantasy Suite week -- it gets, I don't want to use the word 'juicy,' but it gets... juicy," Zach teased on the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast earlier this month.

"It does not necessarily go the way, I think, we all thought it would."

Zach went on to admit, "That's the one [episode] I'm nervous about. Mom, don't watch."

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)


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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.