Derek Peth is trying to move on — but that’s not easy to do when his exes keep moving on first. He watched Demi Burnett ride off into the sunset with Kristian Haggerty while filming Bachelor in Paradise and then during the finale, Tayshia Adams got back together with John Paul Jones.
“It hurts to see their story continue. I think just because of the fact that I felt like I was on such an upswing with her after everything that happened with Demi,” Derek, 31, told Us Weekly exclusively during the taping of the finale. “These things that John said, I know Tayshia says they didn’t impact [her decision] in any way, but I can’t help but still wonder whether these really negative things that someone said about me impacted the way that she sees me.”
He continued, admitting that it’s “hard to see an immature reaction,” especially since it was the opposite of the way Demi and Kristian’s situation played out. The banker then noted: “It’s always really nice to be appreciated especially by people that you care about.”
JPJ and Derek got into a fight over Tayshia at Chris Randone and Krystal Nielson‘s wedding on the beach, something that the phlebotomist says she understands looking back.
“John is a very passionate person, so I know that it came out of love,” the phlebotomist, 29, told Us at the reunion. “The fact that he wanted to stand up to me and prove to me that, I think, that’s what I admired the most. How it happened at a wedding, I do not like, but he knows that. I wish it would’ve just been at a different time and place.”
Tayshia and JPJ are now in a long-distance relationship; she lives in Los Angeles while he’s in Maryland. “I think moving to L.A. is potentially in the horizon,” JPJ, 24, said at the taping. “That would make our dating situation easier. We’re just taking it one day at a time.”
For now, they’re growing a friendship by FaceTiming “every single day for hours,” she said, adding that he brings out a “fun-loving side” of her. “I think that he compliments me really well in that aspect and it’s fun to share that silliness with someone,” the season 23 Bachelor alum said.
Meanwhile, JPJ feels that his new lady makes him a better person: “Tayshia is always striving to improve herself and the people around her. I think that’s infectious.”
With reporting by Kayley Stumpe
