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Jade Roper Defends Bachelor’s Liz: Nick Viall Going on Kaitlyn’s Season Was the Same Thing

Glass houses? After her longtime friend Liz was shown the door on The Bachelor‘s Monday, January 9, episode, Jade Roper spoke with Us Weekly exclusively about why she thought Nick Viall would have reacted more sympathetically to his former fling.

Related: PHOTOS: 'The Bachelor' Season 21: See Which Former Contestants Are Lookalikes With Nick Viall’s New Ladies?

One of the biggest story lines in the first two episodes of The Bachelor season 21 was Liz surprising Viall by showing up to compete for his affections despite not giving him her phone number after their one-night stand at Roper and Tanner Tolbert‘s January 2016 wedding. On this week’s episode, Liz, 29, gave an emotional speech to Viall, 36, at the Museum of Broken Relationships, but he still questioned whether she only wanted to reconnect in order to be on TV. He ultimately cut her from the show during the group date.

Related: PHOTOS: The Most Ridiculous ‘Bachelor’ and ‘Bachelorette’ Job Titles Ever

Roper, 30, who had encouraged Liz to go on the show to explore a possible future with Viall, says she’s “really proud” of her friend. She adds that Liz “really did want to see what was there,” although Roper wishes that the Bachelor had been more open-minded about giving the Las Vegas-based doula a chance.

Jade Roper and Liz
Jade Roper and Liz Allen Berezovsky/WireImage; ABC/Mitch Haaseth

“I felt really bad for her because I felt like the minute that she walked out of the limo, I saw Nick just kind of have a guard up. And I can’t blame him because you never know how someone’s going to react in that situation, but I thought there was a possibility he could act differently, and then it just kind of continued,” Roper says. “He didn’t even look at her on the group date — he wouldn’t even acknowledge her.”

The Bachelor season 19 standout says she doesn’t understand why Viall didn’t pull Liz aside after her emotional “breakup” speech at the museum, as “it was probably a conversation that should’ve been had earlier.” Roper also notes that Viall — who showed up during the middle of Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s season 11 of The Bachelorette after having previously formed a connection with the dance instructor off camera — perhaps should have been less skeptical of Liz’s motives.

Nick Viall
Nick Viall ABC/Mitch Haaseth

“[Kaitlyn’s season is] why I was so supportive when she said she wanted to go on the show, because I was like, ‘Nick’s been through this exact situation,’” Roper explains. “There are some differences, but I mean, he knew Kaitlyn beforehand, I think they had met in person, he had talked to her on the phone and he was interested, so he decided to go on the show.”

“And then he’s turning around and telling [Liz] she’s only there because she wants to be on TV,” the Bachelor in Paradise alum continues. “I was like, ‘That seems kind of strange that you would say that, because out of anyone, you should understand the situation.'”

Related: PHOTOS: Biggest Costar Feuds Ever! These Celebrities Can’t Stand Each Other Off-Screen

As for her own relationship with Viall, Roper says they’re still friends and that she plans to “reach out” to him, given that she has been vocal on Twitter about supporting Liz. Roper points out that she did talk to Liz on Tuesday, and that her maid of honor is “good” and “just kind of moving forward.”

“She thinks her edit was a little bit ridiculous, but she’s just really glad it’s over,” Roper says.

Tell Us: Should Viall have handled things differently with Liz?

The Bachelor airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. 

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