The Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe selected Shawn Booth and therefore dumped runner-up Nick Viall during Monday night's Season 11 finale on ABC.
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Booth ended up proposing marriage to Bristowe, which she was thrilled to accept. The newly-engaged pair is now embracing their relationship in public and dealing with the aftermath of a very controversial season.
Bristowe and Booth talked to Reality TV World on Monday about their experience on the show, their love and what's next. Below is a portion of their interview. Check back with us soon for more.
Reality TV World: Kaitlyn, if you never became The Bachelorette, you might've gone home and pursued a relationship with Nick, who was clearly waiting for you. So hypothetically, if you never met Shawn, do you think you would've ended up happily dating Nick in the real world?
Kaitlyn Bristowe: I think definitely it wouldn't have worked out. That's why we didn't.
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Reality TV World: Kaitlyn, you made a joke to Nick about how he should've stepped out of a limo on Night 1 rather than shown up nearly halfway through the season. If Nick started the competition from the beginning of the season, might that have changed things? You would've gotten more time with him, more time to get to know him better.
Kaitlyn Bristowe: No, it wouldn't have made a difference for that. I think it just would've made a difference for how well he got along with other people. Maybe it would have been more of a fair chance for the guys to look at it that way, but it wouldn't have changed the ending.
Reality TV World: Kaitlyn, you said your family's opinion meant everything to you and if your mom didn't like a guy, for instance, you just couldn't follow through with dating him. It seemed like your family favored Shawn over Nick. Was that a big factor in why you ended up picking Shawn?
Kaitlyn Bristowe: I think it was just more of an eye-opener. They were like, "What are you doing? Like, obviously your connection with Shawn is stronger," and I'm more myself with Shawn. So it was just kind of nice to be taken back to the real world for a second with my family and see that they definitely saw what I saw as well.
Reality TV World: Kaitlyn, you told Shawn he was "the one" in Texas, but you ended up saying you regretted telling him that. Since you've told reporters you were certain Shawn was the man for you all along, were you backpedaling from "the one" comment on the show because your feelings for other guys were becoming stronger or because Shawn was just clearly in distress over you making that confession?
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Kaitlyn Bristowe: I don't know. I just think in that moment, I did feel like he was. It's not that I regret saying he's "the one." I just regretted telling him so early because that just put him in a really tough place and me in a tough place as well.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski