In the wake of the news that “The Bachelor” showrunners Claire Freeland and Bennett Graebner are negotiating their exits from the franchise, Season 29’s Grant Ellis admits that things could have been done better.
“They definitely instilled confidence in me. You know, I’m the second Black Bachelor ever. There’s some weight that comes with that,” Grant tells Variety following Monday night’s season finale. “But I feel like they did their best and that’s important. Could things have done better? Obviously. I could have been done better as well, but I think we all tried and the end goal was an engagement. That was the focus of the show and that’s what happened.”
While fans seemed to expect Juliana Pasquarosa to get the final rose going into last night’s finale, it also led to a heartbreaking moment for Litia Garr. Grant says he has one big regret from the finale — questioning whether he should choose Litia instead.
“That was a question I was asking myself out of confusion,” Grant says. “That’s something I would change. That’s something that was clearly on camera. It’s a moment where you’re spiraling.”
While the finale was teased as a difficult choice, how close the decision was — and how much Grant second-guessed himself — hasn’t factored into Grant and Juliana’s relationship in the months since the proposal.
“We talked about how hard the decision was based on certain factors,” he says. “We also talked about how hard it is to let somebody down and that was the main point of emphasis that the edit really played a part in.”
Juliana echoed Grant’s sentiments, saying: “Grant gave me all the information that I needed when we finished filming. There was a connection between you and Litia but nothing happened that came out of left field. I was prepared mentally.”
Next up for Bachelor Nation following Grant’s season is “Bachelor in Paradise,” which host will return with a surprise twist: contestants from both “Golden Bachelor” and “Golden Bachelorette” will compete, including Season 29’s Zoe McGrady.
