The Bachelorette bachelor Brandon Andreen was ousted by its star Desiree Hartsock during last Monday night's broadcast of the ABC reality dating series' ninth season.

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Brandon, a 26-year-old painting contractor from Costa Mesa, CA, was eliminated during the third episode's Rose Ceremony after he told Des he was falling in love with her and had opened up about his emotional past and family history.

During a conference call with reporters on Thursday, Brandon talked to Reality TV World about his The Bachelorette experience. To read what he had to say, click here. Below are some additional highlights from his call. Click here for more.

How have your friends and family reacted to seeing you on the show?  How did you personally feel about the way the show portrayed you?

Brandon Andreen: I've had just so many friends come out of the woodwork that I haven't seen for a long time.  And I've had all of my friends that I'm currently you know, friends with, and family -- everyone, my phone won't stop ringing and I won't stop getting e-mails, text messages, Facebook, Twitter, you name it, people just -- in my life, in my own little bubble.  They are so happy for me.

And the fact that you know, a part of them might have been [worried] that I would have gone onto a show and been portrayed in a poor light, or I would have you know -- I would have came off -- I would have made a mistake or an idiot of myself or something like that, and that would have been unfortunate. 

But it came off better than I could have ever imagined, you know, crying and stuff like that.  There's maybe five out of 50,000 people that actually could laugh or joke about the story that I told and the pain that I felt when I was growing up.  But the positivity has far overweighed it, and I couldn't be happier to have such support on the show and off the show.

Have you found love since leaving the show?

Brandon Andreen: I have not. 

No?  If you're single -- since you're single, any interest in becoming the next The Bachelor star?

Brandon Andreen: You know, if I were to get asked to be the next Bachelor, it would be something that I'd want to really talk to my friends and family once, like I always do, and really sit down and think about it.  But I mean, if that opportunity would present itself, I, I would, you know, I would really absolutely consider it.

You mentioned earlier that it was apparent Ben Scott, the "politician," wasn't there for the right reasons.  What was he there for then?  Because we haven't gotten a huge sense of that yet on the show.

Brandon Andreen: Yes. I mean, if you heard on the show, when I said, you know, he's talked a lot about his nutrition shops and bars and that was just one of those things that he -- it was just like he was pitching, you know? 

I don't even know, he just wanted to be the dramatic guy on the show.  That's how I feel.  And maybe that's just him, maybe that's his personality and who he is or he was actually just putting on a facade on television?  I'm not sure. 

I don't now Ben on a personal off-camera level, but as far as what I saw and what America saw, it's definitely that he is, he is that guy.  You know, America can't -- they know.  People know when they can, when they can tell, and they can send someone that's not there for the right reason.  So I'm not sure what reasons he was there for.

We saw you sometimes watching Desiree with the other guys, maybe like dancing or kissing.  Did you realize that you find that side of things quite hard before you went on the show?

Brandon Andreen: No, I didn't.  I didn't think -- I really went into it with just, "Let's go, let's do this," and I really didn't try to think about what was going to happen or the emotions that I was going to feel or how I was going to have to pretend to be someone else or something. 

It wasn't what it was.  I just went into it like I always go into everything, and that's just, "Let's go, let's do this right now and see how it goes." And I stayed myself.  I was genuine.

It seems like Michael Garofola and Mikey Tenerelli in particular are really getting kind of sidetracked by the whole Ben drama.  And I guess Bryden Vukasin next week is the first guy to actually discuss the issue with her.  Do you think that that distraction is going to hurt their chances a little bit, as opposed to just focusing on the prize, or do you think that's something they just can't avoid regardless?

Brandon Andreen: Yes.  I mean, that was the unfortunate part, like I said, is that he was the first one to really -- well, I mean, obviously besides [Brian Jarosinski] -- but just from the beginning, it was just like, "There's one thing about this guy that we can't, none of us can really figure."  And then came out the whole, you know, seeing her.  [Ben] could have just said, "Yes, yes, I did go see her."

Why, why do you have to lie about that?  It doesn't make any sense to me.  You know, we're all here trying to be here for the right reasons and having her find love, and there's much drama, or you know, whatever that he wanted to stir up.

It was just unfortunate that that took away from -- that really did at that point at least [take] away from the house trying to really focus on why they're there -- each individual person, and it put more of a focus on Ben.  And so it was just, it was just unfortunate that he had to be on the show. 

What do you see for yourself moving forward now, like in relation to the show or what you've learned from it, and the takeaway as you move forward?

Brandon Andreen: You know, the takeaway from that show really has been one of the [best] experiences of my life.  Obviously, an emotional one, you know, the ups and downs, but all in all, in collective, it was absolutely -- I couldn't, I couldn't be more blessed and honored that out of all the guys that tried out for the season, I made it through.

I got the, you know, the little hometown package in the beginning.  I mean, how could I complain at all?  How could I even begin to complain about one single thing? Yes, it was unfortunate that I got let go early, but that's the way it was supposed to be, and that was God's plan, so we'll just see what the future holds.

I was wondering about the guy with the girlfriend.  Previous to his girlfriend Stephanie showing up, had any of you had an inkling that he might have a girlfriend?  Had he said anything?  Was it literally a complete surprise to all of you?

Brandon Andreen: A 100% complete shocker.  The guy was, you know, Brian would talk to me and build me up.  We would talk and have conversations and he would say things like, "You look great tonight, man. Let's, you know, let's keep this thing positive. Let's do this."

And really, he seemed like a really genuine guy, and obviously, you know, from the show and from getting let go of the show, I don't know the full story.  I never got a chance to talk to Stephanie, so I don't know what their 100% full story is, and definitely, Brian didn't get a chance to say anything about it.

And so, you know, whether or not it is 100%, that that's exactly what happened, it's besides the point.  He admitted to the fact that he was with her and slept with her, you know, the weekend before he got on the show [and that] is disgusting.  So, you know, it was just unfortunate for Des that she, at that moment, you could just see that she just felt sick to her stomach because that right there was like, hey. 

It was the first, the first moment where it went from positive, happy, everybody's cool, let's do this, let's find love, let's make a rap video, let's do these things -- to okay, now it's getting really serious because there could be some other wolves and sheep's wolves you know, in the house that could come out eventually.

And so I, I do think that she put her guard up at that point from the times that she let it down, and you know, before the show, after probably having kept her guard up a lot after [Sean Lowe] let her go.  So it was just unfortunate that that had to happen.

Most people come out of this show without having found love, but a lot of people leave with lifelong friends.  Is Brian someone you think you would give a chance to explain himself, or...

Brandon Andreen: Absolutely. Yes. I mean, I don't hate the guy.  It's not -- I don't hate anybody.  And so, you know, I definitely would love a chance, because you saw the show, so he didn't know what happened.  He just left, and so he didn't have a chance to see how that affected me until the show aired, which I'm sure he's obviously seen.

And so, yes, I would love a chance to sit down with him, hear the full story, you know, if that's something that he's interested in.  If not, he doesn't have to explain anything to me. 

It's not, it's not his due diligence to speak about his personal life here.  He did that on national television, so if he is interested in having a one-on-one coffee sit-down with me, I'd love to hear more about what happened and get it figured out.  Because, you know, I do have a slight resentment against him right now, so.

Yeah, I'm guessing he's not having the positive reaction from the public that you are.

Brandon Andreen: Yes.  I think he's on the opposite end of that positive scale.

Above are some additional details from Brandon's Thursday conference call with reporters. To read what he had to say to Reality TV World, click here. For more, click here. 
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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