The Bachelorette star Desiree Hartsock dumped Drew Kenney in favor of Chris Siegfried, her final bachelor and current fiance, during Monday night's broadcast of the ABC reality dating show's ninth-season finale.

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Desiree sent Drew, a 27-year-old digital marketing analyst from Scottsdale, AZ, packing at the beginning of their one-on-one date in Antigua, which was only hours after she had offered him a rose at the previous night's Rose Ceremony. Drew's ouster followed shortly after Brooks Forester chose to quit the competition and break Desiree's heart.

During a Tuesday conference call with reporters, Drew talked to Reality TV World about his difficult breakup with Desiree.

Reality TV World: You had a lot of good questions for Desiree during the After the Final Rose. But one thing we didn't see you ask was why she bothered to give you a rose at the Rose Ceremony if she was going to just turn around and dump you what seemed to be the very next morning when you met with her for your final date. Did you ever talk to her about that and what were your own thoughts on that whole thing? Did that almost make it hurt more in a way?

Drew Kenney: No, that's a very good question. Actually, on my list of questions, that was on it. Unfortunately, time ran short and I didn't get the opportunity to ask it. But you're right. That did confuse me. I didn't understand why I was handed a rose and then turned around the next day and sent home. I didn't get a chance to talk to her about that.

Once I left the stage, I didn't get to spend any time -- unfortunately, I didn't get any answer to that question. But it did raise my eyebrow as far as what happened and the way it -- especially when she handed out the roses, she said, "Don't accept these unless you're ready to move forward."

And so, of course, in accepting the rose, there was trust there in knowing that this is what she truly wanted from me, was for me to move forward. When in all actuality, that wasn't the case.

Below are some additional highlights from Drew's interview.

When Desiree broke up with you, you took it very well. You were very gracious. But was there any part of you that was kind of feeling angry?

Drew Kenney: Um, no. I didn't have any anger towards her at all. I understood that she was going through something very difficult, and if she didn't feel like she had that connection with me, then I wasn't going to sit there and try to convince her otherwise.

I think that this was something she needed to figure out on her own, and even though I was so set in what I wanted, that doesn't necessarily mean that that was there for her as well. So I wasn't angry at all. I understood what was going on and it's just kind of how it goes.

What was your family's reaction when they found out you wouldn't be bringing Desiree back again?

Drew Kenney: When they met Desiree, they fell in love just as much as I did, so there was a lot of disappointment. But you know, their support never wavered and they just wanted me to be happy when it was all said and done.

They thought that ending up with Desiree was what I wanted and they supported that, but when it didn't happen that way, they hurt just as much as I did. But when it was all said and done, it was all about my happiness. And so, they didn't care the outcome as long as I came out of it in good shape.

If you were in Chris' shoes and Desiree picked you and you saw what happened with Brooks, would you have stayed with her?

Drew Kenney: I would. I'm sure that they had plenty of conversations that kind of allowed her to explain herself, and their connection was different than mine. Like she said, she tried to take every relationship differently.

It was a quick turn-around for her to go from such heartbreak to such elation in that engagement, but I'm sure they had plenty of time to talk it over. And they seem like they're really happy, so I'm happy for them.

Chris Harrison said you would've made a very good star on The Bachelor. Were you ever thinking about possibly being the Bachelor? Were you ever in the running?

Drew Kenney: Yeah, I don't know if I was ever in the running. They keep that stuff pretty close to themselves. So if I was being considered or if any of that was happening, I wasn't really informed. But you know, as far as being the Bachelor, what that meant to me was the opportunity to find the person that I believe I'm meant to be with more than anything else.

Going through this whole process was a little bit of an enlightenment for me. I really came to realize that there are qualities that I'm looking for and I'm ready to find them and I'm ready to settle down and start a family and start my future.

What is in store for you now? Is there something that you're working on now? Is there somebody that you're dating now?

Drew Kenney: No, I haven't began seeing anybody. This whole process, and especially making it as far as I did, it kind of put me in this -- I don't know if it was a self-imposed lockdown or it was making sure that I didn't give anything away, but I haven't began talking to anybody yet.

And my next [goal] is just to continue on with my life and the priority for me has always been the relationships in my life, so staying close to my family, staying close to my friends, and taking care of those things are most important to me.

Check back with Reality TV World soon for more from Drew's call with reporters. To begin reading what Desiree and Chris had to say, click here. To start reading Brooks' perspective on everything, click here.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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