Not impressed? Chase Rice was well aware of his former flame Victoria Fuller joining season 24 of The Bachelor, but he wasn’t prepared for how his entry into the hit series would play out on TV.
“The thing is, I knew she was going to be on the show going into the very beginning of it, and we talked about it,” the North Carolina native, 34, said The Ty Bentli Show on January 24. “We were just like, ‘You know what? They’re not going to do that. There’s no way. They’re not going to involve me in the story line.’ And sure enough, we underestimated them. It just seemed really unnecessary, to be honest.”
Rice doesn’t think his appearance on Fuller’s date with Bachelor Peter Weber is “a coincidence,” but he used the situation as an opportunity to make it about his new project, The Album Part 1. “I was like, ‘Okay, they’re going to throw me under the bus.’ I wanted to make it about the music. That’s why I dropped the album now,” he revealed at the time.
“I have zero desire to be part of some BS reality TV drama. I could care less about that,” the “Ready Set Roll” crooner continued. “This was not a coincidence. I put the album out on purpose right now. Then hopefully at the end of the week, I can be like, ‘Hey, thanks y’all for the BS drama. I got a No. 1 album.’ That’s all I care about.”
Rice spoke to Fitz in the Morning about his history with Fuller on January 24, claiming that they simply “spent a night together” in Charlotte, North Carolina. “She’s a cool chick, from what I know of her,” he added. “You know, I got no problem with her.”
Rice’s encounter with Fuller, 25, and Weber, 28, on The Bachelor aired on Monday, January 27. All appeared well between Fuller and Weber on their one-on-one date, which began with a day of fun at an amusement park. But things took a turn for the worse when Weber surprised Fuller with a private concert from the musician.
The Virginia native later confronted the pilot about her past with Rice over dinner, revealing that she “dated” the country star. Though Weber was initially shocked by Fuller’s revelation, he came around in the end and gave her a rose.
Earlier this month, Weber opened up to Us Weekly exclusively about his journey on The Bachelor. He admitted that “a lot of parts will be really tough” to watch play out on the competition series, but he ultimately “learned” a lot from his experience.
“I feel like I’m a better man at the end of this,” he said on January 13. “I’m more resilient. I feel like I’m a lot better communicator now, and that’s huge in a relationship.”
The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
