No bad blood! After a controversial coupling and an ensuing messy breakup, reality star Nikki Ferrell is playing nice when it comes to her polarizing ex-boyfriend Juan Pablo Galavis.
The former Bachelor contestant, 28, caught up with host Chris Harrison in a red carpet special ahead of the season 19 premiere of ABC’s smash dating show on Monday, Jan. 5, and dished on her split from Galavis. Though the soccer player was widely despised by fans after his controversial season, Ferrell chose not to diss her ex.
“It’s not from a lack of trying on either side,” Ferrell told Harrison about the reason behind her October split. “I tried really hard and he tried too.”
After ending his season without a proposal or even an “I love you,” Galavis, 33, went on VH1’s Couples Therapy with Ferrell in an attempt to make their relationship work.
“I wasn’t going to quit,” Ferrell continued. “I’m not a quitter. I tried everything, he tried, too. It wasn’t just a one-side thing… we real-life tried, not TV-tried.”
Then working as a pediatric nurse in Missouri, Ferrell beat out other finalists Clare Crawley, Renee Oteri, and Andi Dorfman (who went on to become the season 10 star of The Bachelorette) to win Galavis’ heart, although it became a prize that some competitors chose to pass on. The father of one became one of the most disliked Bachelors ever after he came into conflict with showrunners and host Harrison, and made lewd comments to the women on the program.
“He lives in Miami and he’s in the entertainment industry and that’s his job and his lifestyle,” Ferrell said of Galavis. “It was really hard for me to fit into that. At the end of the day we gave it a go but we’re just two different people.”
“His life in Miami was very much a priority for him, so when I would come there I would feel like I was just kind of like thrown into his life,” she continued. “I knew I was never going to be the number one priority. He has a daughter… But there’s a difference between being the second priority and the seventh priority.” Read more of Ferrell’s thoughts on the split here.
