That’s reality TV for you! While audiences definitely got what they were waiting for during the Monday, March 4, episode of The Bachelor – operation fence jump – it wasn’t so fun for those on set at the time.
In case you missed it, Colton Underwood told Cassie Randolph he was in love with her and she let him know she loved him but wasn’t in love. Ouch. After revealing she wasn’t sure she’d ever get there, the speech pathologist, 23, eliminated herself. In turn, Colton, 27, ripped off his mic, said he was “done” and literally jumped the fence to get away from the cameras.
Colton Underwood on ‘The Bachelor’
“Production was confused by him running away because they didn’t know what was happening,” an insider tells Us Weekly exclusively. “They were worried about him.”
To make matters worse, production called for host Chris Harrison and opened the gate but still couldn’t find their leading man. “For them to open the gate and not find him was like, ‘Wait, WTF?’ They were awestricken and had genuine worry. He went actually missing and he wasn’t mic’d.” the source continues. “There was definite worry and production was scrambling.”
Of course, Underwood did return to make his final choice, which will play out on next week’s finale. “I think that I had a realization, ‘Life is not fair’ to myself,” the former NFL star told Us exclusively about his feelings after that moment. “And I had a very important conversation with Chris about that and [thought], ‘Where do we go from here?’”
Additionally, the season 23 leaned on his loved ones for advice. “Having a conversation with my family and my dad really helped put things into perspective,” he told Us. “It was like, ‘You owe this to yourself and you owe this to these women to really explore and see where to go from here.’”
For more on Colton’s shocking move, pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands Wednesday, March 6.
The Bachelor: The Women Tell All airs on ABC Tuesday, March 5, at 8 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Brody Brown
