Season 25 of The Bachelor may be over, but the revelations keep coming. Bri Springs joined Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast to share her thoughts on Matt James’ finale and After the Final Rose — which she actually attended.
While fans watched Matt, 29, winner Rachael Kirkconnell and runner-up Michelle Young chat with guest host Emmanuel Acho during Monday’s After the Final Rose special, Bri, 25, was edited out.
“Watching it back, as odd as it sounds, really did give me the closure that I needed. And watching the entire season back, I was able to see I think all of us were able to see where Matt’s heart was the entire time,” she exclusively told Us. “So for me, I was able to walk away from it looking at my experience, my journey for what it was, and my conversation with Emmanuel did give me the closure that I needed from just this kind of entire experience. I was able to wrap a bow around it and say, ‘We did that and now we can move forward.’”
Bri added that it’s frustrating that fans “missed the conclusion” to her journey on the show.
“[You missed] what it was like for me to make such a big life-altering decision, how my mom and my best friend kind of took part in helping me get there to that conclusion. And lastly, just the closure that I needed from all of this watching back my breakup,” she explained. “I really feel like it was a great conversation that Emmanuel and I had and just looking at where the show could go from here.”
During Monday’s ATFR, Matt revealed that he and Rachael, 24, split last month after she apologized for her past racially insensitive actions.
“I didn’t talk to Matt and didn’t talk to Rachael and Michelle [at After the Final Rose],” she added. “I didn’t talk to the women until after the fact.”
Bri was eliminated by Matt after the fantasy suite dates during the March 8 episode.
“I had no clue [Rachael was the front-runner until I watched]. I mean, that’s why I, in the moment, was blindsided to go home,” she said. “I do think hometowns was a really big turning point, at least for me, you know, where I started to doubt how strong mine and Matt’s connection was compared to his other ones. But then I talked myself out of it and told myself, ‘Oh, it’s gonna be you at the end of this.’”
For more from Bri, including her thoughts on Matt and Rachael’s split and the future of Bachelor Nation, listen to Us Weekly‘s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast!