The Bachelorette alum Jonathon Johnson has revealed what he thinks changed for Devin Strader that led to his brutal dumping of Jenn Tran.
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On the September 3 The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose special, Jenn announced that Devin's behavior before and after their split was devastating, especially when he had followed The Bachelor alum Maria Georgas and allegedly sent multiple women DMs on Instagram.
"I think it's really hard from the outside to just judge based on hearing just one side," Jonathon said during a recent appearance on "The Viall Files" podcast.
"That's not to write off Jenn's point of view, and it's not to write off Devin's either. But there's always more involved in a story that could have been the case."
Jonathon said, however, "the way that [Devin] handled himself" after the breakup was "not smart at all" and inexcusable.
"[Devin] after the fact was, in my opinion, not respectable," Jonathon told former The Bachelor star Nick Viall.
"You're on this public platform, and whatever led to that, that's their business. I don't know [the reason why] and so I can't judge on that."
But Jonathon confirmed that he was totally shocked by Devin and Jenn's breakup when he attended the After the Final Rose taping.
"Honestly, yeah, [I was surprised] because Devin did a fantastic job of not letting us know a thing," Jonathon recalled.
"So when it came down to it, all I know is this dude was madly in love with her on the show and then won't tell us how it ended or what happened. In my mind, they were still together."
"And so when that happened [on AFR]," Jonathon continued, "I was like, 'Whoa sh-t!' The way everybody else reacted, I was just sitting there in the audience, like, 'No way?!'"
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWJonathon didn't hold back when sharing his feelings about how Devin had treated Jenn in the weeks after their early August split.
"I can judge how it was handled after because that has all come out. You have this platform where this girl is putting herself and her heart on the line, and you have an obligation now, at this point, where you committed to somebody to try to make them look as good as you possibly can after the fact," Jonathon explained.
"I don't care if there's other women in your life or whatever. Keep that sh-t under wraps! I've seen people pull together 30-year sh-tty marriages! You can hold out for months until this girl's journey is over."
Jonathon said that Devin should've respected Jenn and supported her.
"Just make her look as respected as possible, and then do whatever you need to do with your life," Jonathon shared.
"But don't go on there and do a bunch of lashes. Don't go out there to a club and hit people up and do all of these things or be caught out with other women in that setting."
Jonathon suggested a smart man would at least "wait a little bit" after The Bachelorette to pursue that type of path.
"Make sure this girl feels like you have her back, at least a little bit!" Jonathon complained.
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Nick agreed that would be the "bare f-cking minimum" for a winner of The Bachelorette, and Jonathon agreed.
Jonathon didn't hesitate to criticize Devin for his actions even though the men had become good friends on The Bachelorette's 21st season.
"We were [friends], surprisingly," Jonathon quipped.
"I am a very open-minded person just in general, so Week 2 when we went to Australia, people were like, '[Devin], is kind of loud. He's an ass,' and I was like, 'You know, there is probably something else there.'"
Jonathon said he and Devin had "a lot of guy chats" and they both tend to talk a lot.
"He and I got close and started to get to know each other pretty well, but there's no part of me that would've guessed the ending [happened] the way that it did. I think he does have a good heart and I think he means well, but he made some mistakes along the way," he concluded.
After The Bachelorette finale aired and Jonathon posted a sweet message to Jenn on Instagram in attempt to rally support on her behalf, he also called Devin on the phone "to make sure he was okay."
"I wish he said something where I could sit here and say, 'Yes! This is exactly what he was trying to do!' And that he just wanted to win or whatever, but I honestly have no idea," Jonathon elaborated.
"In the moment, unless he is the world's best liar, I thought he was 100% genuine. He seemed head over heels and got upset when other things would happen... He was so upset [when I stole Jenn for a kiss]. You wouldn't react that way if it's a game."
Jonathon presumably feels even stronger about Devin's behavior now that Devin has release months of private text messages with Jenn in attempt to tell his "truth" and dispute "false narratives" out there about him. (Jenn called Devin's 13-minute, tell-all video a huge "invasion" of her privacy).
When Jenn appeared on the "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe" podcast last week, she explained how there were "a lot" of reasons why she sent Jonathon home in third place -- behind runner-up Marcus Shoberg and winner Devin -- after overnight Fantasy Suite dates.
Jenn recalled of her connection with Jonathon, "It just wasn't there."
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But a lack of chemistry wasn't the only thing standing in the former couple's way of progressing in The Bachelorette process.
"I don't think he'll mind me saying this, but he just wasn't sure about doing long distance," Jenn revealed of the California-based creative director who works in ads and marketing.
"I was like, 'I live in Miami and I'm not going to be moving,' and he's not going to be moving."
Jenn elaborated, "So we were both kind of just like -- we didn't know if long distance-wise [how it would work]. If his heart wasn't in it and mine wasn't, then it wasn't going to work."
Jonathon seemed to agree with Jenn's assessment when he told Nick on the September 10 episode of "The Viall Files" podcast, "I genuinely think it was just the connection wasn't there [between us]."
Jonathon regrettably waited too long to fully open his heart and express his feelings to Jenn, and so he left The Bachelorette's 21st season after Fantasy Suite dates lamenting about how he had gotten in his own way of finding true love.
But Jenn and Jonathon reunited in California following The Bachelorette's September 3 finale and posted flirty TikTok videos, allowing fans to believe there may be something still there between them.
Since Jenn and Jonathon's recent hangout session got fans buzzing about whether they're going to try again, the pair both addressed the dating gossip during their separate podcast appearances.
"We're on such good terms," Jenn told Kaitlyn Bristowe, adding how she wants to remain friends with some of the guys from her The Bachelorette season.
"I'm like, 'People are going to think I'm weird,' but no, I just want to be their friend!"
Jenn pointed out how fans will probably see her "grabbing a beer" with not only Jonathon, but her fourth-place The Bachelorette finisher Jeremy Simon as well.
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When asked if he'd like to turn his friendship with Jenn into a romance on "The Viall Files," Jonathon replied, "I'll tell you this: it's a hard position to be in when -- and I'm not just trauma dumping right now -- but when, like, I think people have been in love with the idea of me before and then not actually myself."
Jonathon noted that getting eliminated from The Bachelorette in third place made him feel like "everyone else can see" his worth "except for the person" he really wanted to see it.
"It's hard to go back on that... I'm not saying [getting back together] could never happen. I'm not saying that," Jonathon acknowledged.
Jonathon, however, confirmed he and Jenn have not had a real conversation about the possibility of exploring their relationship again.
"But she's going to be in L.A. for the next few months [for Dancing with the Stars], and that's where I live. So at some point, [we will]," Jonathon noted.
Nick advised Jonathon not to tease Bachelor Nation for too long about his relationship with Jenn -- if nothing is going to happen, like in the case of The Bachelorette alums Hannah Brown and Tyler Cameron -- because people might turn on them.
"What if we don't know though?" Jonathon asked. "What if we can't make our minds up?"
Nick therefore asked Jonathon point blank, "Do you want to try? Do you want to explore it?"
"I don't know," Jonathon replied. "Open-minded is probably where I stand... I genuinely have no idea."
Jonathon clearly still thinks very highly of Jenn, even after she dumped him on The Bachelorette.
Jonathon's sweet message to Jenn via Instagram on September 5 included how he feels "so incredibly honored to have been a part" of her journey to find love.
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"She experienced a situation on a national scale that I would never want to see someone go through, but this WOMAN walked on stage, with her head held high, and handled herself with so much class and beauty that my jaw is on the floor."
Jonathon continued in his upload, "Jenn, from me, my family, and anyone that has had the absolute privilege of meeting you, you're an incredible woman and we are SO proud of your journey. I will be cheering you on as you shake it down on DWTS and all the success after."
Jonathon admitted on the August 29 episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast that he knew he was going home after Fantasy Suite dates.
"I think there was just an X factor missing. Especially watching it back, you can kind of see it. She's confessing her love for Marcus, and Devin's saying that he's in love with her," Jonathon said.
Jonathon explained that while their romance was fun and light, it was clear they were behind her relationships with other men.
If Jonathon and Jenn only remain friends, Jonathon has an official invitation to appear on Bachelor in Paradise's tenth season next year.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
