Bachelorette’s Ben, Brendan and Ivan Continue to Tell All: Everything You Would’ve Learned About Season 16 at ‘After the Final’ Rose

Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC(3)

Bachelorette’s Ben, Brendan and Ivan Continue to Tell All: Everything You Would’ve Learned About Season 16 at ‘After the Final’ Rose

No After the Final Rose? No problem. Ben Smith, Brendan Morais and Ivan Hall have all dished about their respective splits from Tayshia Adams after the Tuesday, December 22, finale of The Bachelorette. “It was a lot of coming and going, but I will say I don’t regret anything,” Tayshia, 30, told Us Weekly exclusively about her two-part finale on Wednesday, December 23. “I think if that’s how I felt in the moment, then it’s what I needed to do in order to get the closure that I needed. And although [bringing back Ben] kind of made things maybe a little sticky at times, I mean, sometimes you have to do the sticky things to figure out what you really want and to be competent in your decision at the end of the day.” During the Monday, December 22, episode of The Bachelorette, Brendan, 30, eliminated himself after he realized he wasn’t ready to get married again while looking at engagement rings with Tayshia and Neil Lane. "Finding Tayshia, as amazing and beautiful as she was and that connection was true and really there, I was gonna take it day by day and as I moved farther along into the process, I tried to be as true to myself and not doing anything for any other reason … any other outside factors,” he explained on Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin’s “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast. [jwplayer 7AEIUdF0-l3ahXupL] Following Brendan’s exit, Ben, who was eliminated after the hometown dates, returned for a second shot. "The reason I feel in love with her is because of the way she made me feel,” Ben explained to Nick Viall on his “Viall Files” podcast. “She held space for me. She created a space for me to be open and valuable. … She didn't do anything other than just receive me. ... I don't know how she did it … But she handled herself with beauty and grace." During Tuesday’s finale, Tayshia decided to give Ben and Zac Clark roses after she sent Ivan home. While viewers were confused by their split, Ivan explained on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s “Off the Vine” podcast that things took a turn when Tayshia, a Christian, asked him in the fantasy suite whether he planned to raise his kids religious. According to the former phlebotomist, however, religion wasn’t the only factor in their breakup. “We utilized fantasy suites for what they’re really meant for. Yes, you know, there’s a stigma behind it. But also, it’s an opportunity to have conversations that you might not want to have on camera,” Tayshia told Us. “And we had a lot of conversations about what we thought our future would look like, what it looked like raising kids and our beliefs and everything like that. So, religion is one thing that we did talk about, but we talked about many other things. And I feel like there were reasons why we both felt like, you know, it might not align.” In the end, Tayshia sent Ben packing (again) and accepted a proposal from Zac. While Chris Harrison cited the coronavirus pandemic as the reason for no live After the Final Rose special, the couple appeared on Good Morning America to confirm their status and reveal plans to spend the holidays in New York with his family. “It’s been difficult at times [for Zac and me to watch the show]. But I think we’ve navigated to the best of our abilities, and it’s worked out,” Tayshia concluded during her chat with Us. Scroll through for more post-show revelations: Hear the Us Weekly editors break down the most surprising celebrity births during the pandemic in under 2 minutes!

Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC(3)

Bachelorette’s Ben, Brendan and Ivan Continue to Tell All: Everything You Would’ve Learned About Season 16 at ‘After the Final’ Rose

No After the Final Rose? No problem. Ben Smith, Brendan Morais and Ivan Hall have all dished about their respective splits from Tayshia Adams after the Tuesday, December 22, finale of The Bachelorette. “It was a lot of coming and going, but I will say I don’t regret anything,” Tayshia, 30, told Us Weekly exclusively about her two-part finale on Wednesday, December 23. “I think if that’s how I felt in the moment, then it’s what I needed to do in order to get the closure that I needed. And although [bringing back Ben] kind of made things maybe a little sticky at times, I mean, sometimes you have to do the sticky things to figure out what you really want and to be competent in your decision at the end of the day.” During the Monday, December 22, episode of The Bachelorette, Brendan, 30, eliminated himself after he realized he wasn’t ready to get married again while looking at engagement rings with Tayshia and Neil Lane. "Finding Tayshia, as amazing and beautiful as she was and that connection was true and really there, I was gonna take it day by day and as I moved farther along into the process, I tried to be as true to myself and not doing anything for any other reason … any other outside factors,” he explained on Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin’s “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast. [jwplayer 7AEIUdF0-l3ahXupL] Following Brendan’s exit, Ben, who was eliminated after the hometown dates, returned for a second shot. "The reason I feel in love with her is because of the way she made me feel,” Ben explained to Nick Viall on his “Viall Files” podcast. “She held space for me. She created a space for me to be open and valuable. … She didn't do anything other than just receive me. ... I don't know how she did it … But she handled herself with beauty and grace." During Tuesday’s finale, Tayshia decided to give Ben and Zac Clark roses after she sent Ivan home. While viewers were confused by their split, Ivan explained on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s “Off the Vine” podcast that things took a turn when Tayshia, a Christian, asked him in the fantasy suite whether he planned to raise his kids religious. According to the former phlebotomist, however, religion wasn’t the only factor in their breakup. “We utilized fantasy suites for what they’re really meant for. Yes, you know, there’s a stigma behind it. But also, it’s an opportunity to have conversations that you might not want to have on camera,” Tayshia told Us. “And we had a lot of conversations about what we thought our future would look like, what it looked like raising kids and our beliefs and everything like that. So, religion is one thing that we did talk about, but we talked about many other things. And I feel like there were reasons why we both felt like, you know, it might not align.” In the end, Tayshia sent Ben packing (again) and accepted a proposal from Zac. While Chris Harrison cited the coronavirus pandemic as the reason for no live After the Final Rose special, the couple appeared on Good Morning America to confirm their status and reveal plans to spend the holidays in New York with his family. “It’s been difficult at times [for Zac and me to watch the show]. But I think we’ve navigated to the best of our abilities, and it’s worked out,” Tayshia concluded during her chat with Us. Scroll through for more post-show revelations: Hear the Us Weekly editors break down the most surprising celebrity births during the pandemic in under 2 minutes!

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Brendan Has No Regrets

The Massachusetts native weighed in on his breakup with Tayshia on the “Viall Files” podcast on Tuesday, December 29. “I feel confident in the decision I made, for sure, and staying true to myself and how I felt in the moment,” he explained. “In hindsight, I definitely … I don’t regret anything, but I’m still sad about it — absolutely still sad that that’s the way it played out.”

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Ivan’s Religious Beliefs

The fan-favorite revealed during his “Off the Vine” interview that he is “agnostic.” 

“A lot of people confuse it for being atheist, which is not what I am,” he explained. "Atheist is taking a hard stance that there is no God, and that's not what I believe at all. It's completely different things, but everybody confuses it. Agnostic is strictly saying, I don't know, basically. … So, it all gets kind of crazy and when we get into the details of things when she maybe starts asking me about like my beliefs about like, is there a heaven or is there a hell, that kind of stuff, I'm gonna be, like, yeah, my answer's gonna be different than yours. Because I'm gonna tell our kids, I don't know what there is, and then you can tell the kids whatever you want, and you can take them to church, that's completely fine with me.”

He concluded: "For Tayshia, it's something different, where she, I guess, actually wanted to date someone who is Christian. And that's completely fine, and that's how a lot of people are."

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Ivan’s Reaction to Zac

Ivan also told the season 11 Bachelorette that he didn’t “realize” that Tayshia and Zac "had a ton of chemistry going on” until he watched the show.

"I guess one would question their lifestyles are on opposite coasts. He's sober, it seemed like Tayshia honestly liked to drink … I don't know how that plays into it,” he added. "I know for certain, I could tell, that Zac was in love with Tayshia. Like, before all of us he was there first and he's a great guy and he's going to treat her right. I wish them the best though."

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Brendan Reacts to Tayshia’s ‘The One’ Comment

After his departure, Tayshia told the ABC cameras that she thought Brendan was the person she was going to choose — a remark he told Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti that he was shocked to hear watching the show.

“I’m speaking with the producers, I’m speaking with the other guys on the show to a certain extend and [I’m like] … I know Tayshia is here to find love and leave engaged and potentially find her husband, so the last thing I want to do is pose the question to her, ‘Hey would you be down to date? Would you be down to leave her boyfriend and girlfriend?’ And that was honestly my initial thought,” Brendan explained on the "Almost Famous" podcast, noting that producers reiterated that she was looking for a husband. “It was tough coming to terms with that.”

When asked about “The One” comment specifically, Brendan added that he was “jarring” to hear. “It shocked me a little bit to hear her say that. And I know we had a great connection and I felt very, very strongly about her and she felt very strongly about me, of course, and we had that emotional, that physical connection,” he said. “Me watching it back, I had not the slightest idea that she felt I was The One since day one.”

He concluded that “watching how it ended was really refreshing” for him as “it put [him] at ease knowing what happened was meant to happen.”

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Brendan’s Reaction to Zac

Brendan admitted to Ben and Ashley that he thought Ivan was a better fit for Tayshia.

“I know Tayshia and Ben had a connection, of course. But there was something that she was always wresting with Ben,” Brendan said, adding that he believes he would have been in the top two if he didn’t quit. “I thought she was going to end up with Zac. I thought Ivan … they were a better fit together, to be honest. Zac was an amazing guy as well, but Ivan and Tayshia, their personalities seem to be a little more similar. Ivan would have followed Tayshia all over the world. … [But] watching it back, there was a different level of passion that Tayshia and Zac had that Ivan didn’t have.” 

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Ben’s Connection to Chef Antonia

Fans weren’t the only ones surprised when the Top Chef star showed up for Ben’s hometown date. While he admitted to Nick on “Viall Files” that he wasn’t expecting his family friend, whom he met through training her daughter, he was pleasantly surprised.

“She's like a brother, sister, best friend [to me],” he noted.

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Ben Was Blindsided by Initial Split

When Tayshia first sent Ben home, he had no idea the breakup was coming.

“She said something to me that I didn’t understand in the moment. She says, ‘I don’t think we're on the same page. Are you even ready to get married?’ … Up until that point, I thought we were both completely on the same page, on the same letter on the same word on the same page,” he told the season 21 Bachelor. “I’ve never been more caught off guard ever in my life.”

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Ben Details His Return

"I came back into that expecting her to be upset, expecting her to be frustrated. … Me coming back, I can imagine that’s incredibly stressful,” Ben told Nick, noting that he was “reassured” when she kissed him. “Our hot makeout at the end reinforced all these things that I was hoping to get from that conversation. I was hoping that she would maybe show some outward expression of affection toward me or give me a signal that she was into me and that all happened, but yeah, she was mad at me and I understand it.”

He added, “I had reservations about that coming back in, but you better believe I wanted the chance to express myself. … For the first time in my life, I found a woman that I could see being the mother of my children. … I don’t get to that place very often. She checked all my boxes, which was unreal.”

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How Ben Feels Now

Ben told Nick that at the time, he couldn’t just turn his feelings for Tayshia off. “But when you love someone you let them grow, you let them go do what that thing that they need to do. So, I’m completely sincere in that I’m incredibly happy for her,” he said, adding that he’s grateful Tayshia sent him home before proposal day. ”I’m so thankful that she did it there and didn't let me walk that fire hazard path into the woods to not get a rose at the end. I'm so thankful. She did an incredible job."

He concluded: "I know that she's just doing the best that she can. In the same way that I get sent home for trying my hardest. This is just one big massive exercise in empathy. … She's having a tough time I'm sure. I don't want to break up with anybody, and she had to break up with 23 other people, so I'm not holding any resentments, no anger."

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Ben’s Reaction to Zac

"I was in the camp of being, like, There's no f—king way that any other dude is having the same experience that I am having. But watching it back now, I see, ‘Oh, my god, Ben, dude.’ Like, your relationship was one thing, and it was playful and fun, and I can see that connection that we had, but it's pretty evident that there was a deeper bond and a deeper connection, ultimately, with Zac. You can see their chemistry, you can see the way they play off of each other,” Ben said. “I’m so happy for Tayshia, I'm so happy for Zac. Zac and I were close throughout the entire experience,” Ben said. “You can see that they're happy together. The fact that they're still together, that's incredible in and of itself."