As he may or may not be gearing up for a stint on Bachelor in Paradise, Bennett Jordan reflected on his time on Tayshia Adams’ season of The Bachelorette during an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, including his decision to return for a second chance after his elimination.
“It was a really tough dance. That was a really heartfelt [moment], you know, and obviously, there’s moments that you weren’t privy to, right?” the 36-year-old Del Toro loafer designer exclusively told Us. “For me, I couldn’t have done it much differently. I wanted to put myself out there and genuinely let her know how I was feeling.”
Bennett went on to seemingly reference finalist Ben Smith, who had a similar trajectory to the Harvard alum as the fitness guru also returned and confessed his love for Tayshia after a lackluster departure.
“I think even another contestant continued to go on and then use this exact same phrase later, you know, ‘Sometimes you just don’t know what those feelings are on the magnitude and the depth of them until it’s too late,’” Bennett told Us. “And that was certainly the case for me. And while it’s not a regret — things work out the way that they’re supposed to — had I been able to have a one-on-one date and really show my heartfelt side, I think things could have potentially been different.”
In the end, Tayshia sent Bennett home again after his brief return. During the December 2020 finale, she accepted a proposal from Zac Clark.
“She seems incredibly happy with Zac and I’m rooting for those guys. I know it’s a really tough situation,” Bennett continued, noting that he’s also “so happy” for Clare Crawley and Dale Moss, who left season 16 of The Bachelorette as a couple within the first two weeks of filming.
Bennett cited Dale, 32, as one of his closest friends from the season, along with Dr. Joe Park and Ed Waisbrot.
“It’s just a really unique experience, going in and sharing a journey and a show and everything like that,” he explained. “I think it’s really tough for people to understand unless you’ve actually been in those shoes. And then when you have you come out and you have this bond. Joe made a hilarious analogy. He’s like, ‘I like to equate it to your war brothers. You’ve gone in and you’ve been to war together and you’d come out and you’ve got this, like, you know, solitude to each other.’ It is just a one-of-a-kind unbelievable experience that I think that certainly creates a bond for the future.”