She had a bad feeling. Arie Luyendyk Jr. called it quits with fiancee Becca Kufrin during one of their “happy couple weekends” post-Bachelor. Although she was left feeling hurt and betrayed, Kufrin had her suspicions in the moments leading up to the breakup.
Tia Booth, a contestant on The Bachelor season 22 who became close to Kufrin, 27, during the show, explained her friend’s state of mind before Luyendyk, 36, broke her heart on camera mere weeks after proposing.
“I mean, she told us she was completely blindsided,” Booth said on the Monday, March 5, episode of Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti’s The Almost Famous podcast.
However, Booth also revealed when Kufrin realized the race car driver came bearing bad news. “He showed up with no luggage and she knew something was up,” she said.
Luyendyk split from Kufrin in an unedited, emotional clip that aired on the Monday, March 5, finale of The Bachelor. The real estate agent tried to justify the controversial tape during his visit to Good Morning America on Wednesday, March 7.
“I really wanted everyone to know that this was on me. It was my fault and I felt like filming that would let people know that, there if there were any questions on the breakup, that those would be squashed if they saw the breakup,” he explained, then sharing his belief that televising the personal moment would pave the way for Kufrin to become the franchise’s new lead. “Honestly, I wanted her [to have] that opportunity to be the potential Bachelorette. I hope I gave her that closure. I’m very happy for her. I’m happy she’s going to be able to find her true love through the show.”
The Minnesota native was named Bachelorette on the Tuesday, March 6, episode of After the Final Rose. “She’s very resilient. As we’ve seen, she takes everything in stride,” an insider tells Us of the new lead. “She also has a very electic taste in men so you’re going to see a lot of very different men fighting for her heart.”
Another pal tells Us in the new issue that Kufrin is “very excited” for the role, although it did “take her a little time to make the decision.”
“She got her heart broken by Arie and was really hurt,” the source explains. “She’s completely over him. She’s more worried that America will think she’s not there for the right reasons and isn’t ready to find her husband. But she is! She believes in the show and that you can find real love on it. She found it the first time, so she truly believes she’ll find it again. She’s nervous and scared, but really excited for the next adventure!”
For more on Kufrin’s journey, pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now!
