The Bachelorette couple Garrett Yrigoyen and Becca Kufrin have opened up about his Instagram controversy this season, and according to Garrett, he once feared it would cost him Becca.
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"And it was affecting my family. There were countless people reaching out to my family and my friends and trying to get to the bottom of who I was as a person and attacking my character."
Garrett, the winner of Becca's heart and final rose on The Bachelorette's fourteenth season, came under fire in May for "liking" a series of Instagram jokes and memes mocking feminists, the transgender community, immigrants and even Parkland shooting survivors.
Garrett issued a formal publicly apology at the time for his "mindless" double taps on Instagram, and Becca defended his character as well, but the public wanted more.
The conversation came up on After the Final Rose when Becca admitted to Chris Harrison of her engagement, "Things have been wonderful, but they've been hard at times."
"You know, I'll just take time now. Some stuff came out about my social media and I didn't realize the effect behind a double tap or a 'like' on Instagram, so I put out an apology, I didn't mean to offend anybody, I apologize for that still. I'm very sorry and didn't mean to hurt anybody's feelings," Garrett explained.
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"I stand by everything I posted in my apology, and I'm just trying to grow as a person and become a better person on a daily basis."
He continued of Becca, "She's been helping me through everything. We've been honest, open and transparent with one another since the beginning, and when all of that came out, we attacked it, because I feel like when I was 'liking' things, it was going against what she stands for, and that made it really hard on us as a couple."
Becca, however, insisted the following: "We pushed through it... and so there's never been any question in my mind of, 'Can we get through this? Will this end us?' That never crossed my mind."
Garrett, an apparent staunch conservative, was accused of being sexist, racist, homophobic, politically-extreme -- and even "heartless" -- based on his social-media activity. For example, he liked a joke about Caitlyn Jenner's transition, and his "likes" on Instagram memes were as recent as November 2017.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWBut Becca supported Hillary Clinton in the last election and feels passionate about the equal rights movements, as she recently participated in the Women's March. The couple therefore appears to have drastically different political views and social values.
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However, Becca insisted on After the Final Rose she and Garrett never hit rock bottom or a particularly low point in their relationship because of this scandal.
"I don't think it ever got to that point [of considering a breakup]. Of course I want somebody who is going to challenge me, and I want to do the same, and so it's just been a constant conversation, Becca told Chris.
"And he's had to deal with some really negative things being said about him, like terrible things, and he put out that apology and asked for the chance to learn and grow, and so that's all I could hope for in him."
Garrett said open communication with Becca has allowed them to grow, progress and move forward as an engaged couple.
"So when we started talking about that, we got through that together... She knows who I am as a person and that I didn't stand behind those likes and that I'm a better person than who I was presenting on my social media. She believed in that. And like I said, I'm sorry, I apologize," he said.
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Becca said Garrett's Instagram controversy was a "major thing" and "struggle" they had to deal with early on in their relationship.
"I luckily got to know him for who he is. And on the show, we don't have phones, we don't have social media, and so, I got to see who he is -- his heart and his soul. And the Instagram situation, I don't condone that, and I know he stands by his apology and feels so bad for everyone he did offend, and he didn't mean it," Becca said on her fiance's behalf.
"And I just want to continue to move forward and to learn and to grow and continue to educate ourselves, and that's all you can ask for in another person, is somebody that recognizes if they make a mistake and do something wrong and want to learn and grow from it, and that's what he showed me."
Becca said the incident "definitely" made their romance "stronger," as it was a "hurdle" they had to overcome together.
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However, the hardest part of the scandal for Becca was having to sit back and watch the "backlash" pour in when she couldn't even reveal to the world she loves Garrett and stands by him.
"It's been tough. I couldn't say, 'Hey, this is my man and I have his back,' because I couldn't give away the ending. But I knew we would have this moment now to address it, so I can only ask that people allow us to grow and learn from this," Becca added.
Garrett proposed marriage to Becca during Monday night's finale of The Bachelorette's fourteenth season after she broke the heart of her runner-up suitor, Blake Horstmann.
Becca and Garrett gushed on After the Final Rose they are madly in love and plan to move in together soon.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
