The Bachelorette star Charity Lawson has insisted there was "no credibility" to Brayden Bowers' claims at The Men Tell All.
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"I was not nervous to see Brayden at all," Charity told Entertainment Weekly about her reunion with the controversial Season 20 bachelor on Monday night's The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All special.
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The Men Tell All featured Charity saying that, after watching most of her The Bachelorette season back on TV, she didn't like how Brayden had talked about their relationship to the other guys.
Brayden, for example, had vented about how he wanted to see Charity loosen up and stop playing The Bachelorette role, at least for a short time. He essentially suggested that Charity was faking her charisma for the cameras and not showing her low moments or true colors.
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Although Charity thought she only saw one side of Brayden -- a different side from what he had shown the other bachelors -- and Brayden thought Charity was only showing one version of herself, The Bachelorette star insisted, "There is no disconnect."
"This is Brayden trying to make it about Brayden and make himself seem a lot better, or whatever," Charity told EW.
"We saw all the men on that stage vouch for my authenticity, and I said it time and time again: At no point did Charity Lawson ever switch up who she was. I showed who I was the entire season, and I think viewers can also make sense of that too."
Charity continued, "It's crazy because Brayden never really saw me in other settings with the men apart from group dates. But I got to see Brayden act crazy with the men and on his interviews and watching it back."
Charity reminded viewers how she got to "sit down individually with the guys" but also chat with them in group settings.
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"The origin of it is just Brayden talking about whatever. So yeah. No credibility to that. Next!" Charity said.
The Bachelorette star shared how it actually wasn't challenging to be authentic while filming a reality show.
"Obviously, I was on [Zach Shallcross' The Bachelor] season, and that was an adjustment. When I accepted the role of Bachelorette, I knew coming into this that the only way that I'm going to survive is if I stay true to myself," Charity explained.
"Like, it's hard [to create a perfect image]. For me it's hard to keep up with an act and be consistent in that. I don't know how some people are so skillful at that."
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Charity said she really values her authenticity and so she wouldn't try to be someone she's not.
"I was like, 'I'm coming into this as Charity, and if they don't like it, they don't like it. I can't really do anything else than just be the real me.' That was easy for me to do," Charity recalled.
On The Bachelorette's twentieth season, Brayden took a lot of heat for saying his goal was to form a connection with Charity and just leave the show feeling "content" about their relationship.
When Brayden voiced how he didn't think he'd be ready to propose marriage to Charity by the Final Rose Ceremony, the other Season 20 bachelors appeared shocked and disturbed -- especially Aaron Bryant and Adrian Hassan, who both warned Charity that Brayden wasn't taking the show seriously.
Amid drama, Brayden -- whose intentions were constantly questioned -- ultimately chose to self-eliminate from The Bachelorette because he couldn't "get there" with Charity.
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The 24-year-old travel nurse from San Diego, however, returned to talk to Charity during a cocktail party to apologize for his somewhat hot-tempered and brazen departure.
But Brayden was essentially chased off the show for interrupting Charity's time with the other guys. Aaron Bryant, for example, yelled about how Brayden was disrespectful and hadn't acted like a real man.
Charity suggested it's possible Brayden's stint on The Bachelorette was just an audition to be on Bachelor in Paradise.
"I don't know [if it was an audition]. I honestly will say, I think early on we had a connection. I just think it got to the point where he knew where it was probably going, and I don't think he was bold enough to be like, 'Let me go ahead and dismiss myself,'" Charity told EW.
"I think he definitely waited it out as much as he could, which makes me now question, 'Oh, were you trying to get to a certain point?' I don't know. He did what he did best, and we're just going to move on."
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Charity previously admitted that she had probably given Brayden more grace -- and more chances -- than he deserved, but she said she doesn't regret her decision to keep the suitor around for several weeks.
"I'm not regretful for being gracious or generous, because that's who I am as a person. I'm a very compassionate and loving person," Charity acknowledged.
"But I think in these moments when these men have shown me multiple times who they are, it's a wake-up sign for me to be like, 'Alright, they've shown you their character flaws -- whatever you want to call it -- and it's up to me to believe that."
Charity said it seemed like the "majority" of her season was choosing to give Brayden "chances," but that's just because she was "working through those emotions," which naturally took time.
"I don't want to apologize for that, because I'm doing what I know is best in that moment with all the information that I have," Charity reasoned.
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"But obviously watching back it's like, I probably could have handled this situation differently. Or if I knew everything that I now know now, I would've approached a conversation differently."
Charity and Brayden, however, both said that they were grateful to have met each other, and they seemed to leave The Men Tell All in a cordial and amicable state.
The Bachelorette's three-hour season finale airs Monday, August 21 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC, and in addition to Aaron B., the other bachelors who still remain are Joey Graziadei and Dotun Olubeko.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Click here to read spoilers about Charity's The Bachelorette season and who Charity picked as her winner.
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