The Bachelorette runner-up Justin Glaze has explained why he felt cheated out of a fair shot with Katie Thurston towards the end of her journey to find love on Season 17.
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Justin wanted to feel chosen and wished Katie had actually given him one of her last two roses.
The Bachelorette co-host Kaitlyn Bristowe therefore asked Justin, "Do you feel like Katie gave you a fair shot?"
"No," Justin replied.
During a Tuesday appearance on "The Ben and Ashley I: Almost Famous Podcast," Justin explained what he meant by that.
"So I was referring to the Fantasy Suite day," Justin told former The Bachelor star Ben Higgins and former The Bachelor bachelorette Ashley Iaconetti.
Ashley interjected, "So you would've wanted it -- even after what went down with Blake before you?"
"No," Justin clarified.
Justin's Fantasy Suite date would have followed Katie's date with Blake Moynes, when she told Blake that she loved him and only wanted to be with him.
But instead of going on her date with Justin, Katie broke up with him.
"It's tough," Justin said. "I told her I certainly respect that she was honest with me and let me know how she was feeling and didn't waste my time. Right?"
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"I guess where I was coming from is -- and it wasn't up to me, but -- I was curious because let's say the roles were reversed or they were switched and I had gone before Blake."
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Justin reasoned, "What would that whole day and whole night potentially done for us? And then she could've had Blake for the whole day and the whole night, and then kind of see where each relationship was after that."
Justin was left wondering about what could have been because Katie allegedly admitted to him during their breakup conversation -- which took place only a few days after Justin's hometown date -- that she wasn't leaning towards Blake going into Fantasy Suite Week.
"One of the things I asked her [when we broke up] was, 'Hey, I totally respect that and I thank you, but one of the questions I have is... Was there any point throughout this journey where you started to realize, okay, I'm starting to gravitate towards Blake?'" Justin recalled.
"And she said, 'No, it literally was not until that prior night.' That night before. She said, 'Up until this morning, I wanted to go through with this day with you. It wasn't until last night where I had that moment of clarity and I knew.'"
Justin said he was glad that Katie was a straight-shooter and so honest with him but the disclosure definitely left him with some what ifs.
"If she had said, 'You know, yeah, at a certain point, I was leaning towards [Blake or] these relationships,' I would be like, 'Okay, cool, I can see how our relationship wasn't as strong as it needed to be,'" Justin acknowledged.
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Justin also admitted he found it "frustrating, for sure" he received such little screentime on the show and people didn't get to see his deep and also playful connection with Katie throughout the season.
But Justin said he and Katie both knew and understood their bond and he felt certain, based on the trust and chemistry they had developed, that he was "still around for a reason" at the Final 4.
"No part of me doubted that I would be there through hometowns," Justin confirmed, adding that he and Katie also had an intense physical chemistry.
However, once Michael and Greg quit the season back-to-back, Justin became "skeptical" of whether Katie really would have given him a Final 2 rose if she still had the option between all of those men.
"I remember talking to the producers and saying, 'Hey guys, I'm kind of torn because I'm one step closer to being with her but anything I've had in life, I've worked for, and it's much that more gratifying when you feel you've earned it,'" Justin shared.
"I told her it would've meant that much more to me if she handed me that rose and I felt like I was there by default."
Justin also insisted he had poured everything he had into the process and his relationship "coming to a screeching halt" with Katie was tough.
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"It sucks giving so much of yourself, and to not end up the way you wanted it to, it's a tough pill to swallow," he confessed.
Justin added that if he and Katie had a successful Fantasy Suite night with deep conversation and she ultimately picked him in the end, he'd definitely be ready to propose marriage.
But after seeing Katie's connection with other men on television, Justin concluded, "Things ended the way they were supposed to, so I can live with that... Was I ready for [an engagement] then? Yes. Would it have been the right decision looking back now? No."
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In their post-show press, the couple has gushed about things they have in common and their sex life, and Katie has also fired back at critics saying she's still not over Greg because of the animosity she felt towards him on After the Final Rose.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
