“The demise of our relationship was completely my fault,” Brad says. “I gave Em every reason under the sun to get out much sooner than she did. She hung in there with me much, much longer than she should have.”
Emily paints a picture that things began spiraling downhill while The Bachelor aired last January. But Emily will take ABC’s stage once again and discuss the aftermath of her breakup with Brad on a special set to air on July 11.
“Watching it back, he had a tendency to say the same thing to a couple of girls,” says Emily. “So I felt less and less special.”
Once Emily accepted the $50,000 Neil Lane diamond engagement ring on the season finale reports began swirling that Emily was moving to Brad’s native Austin, Texas.
“I need stability,” she says of her decision not to move. “I can’t just say I’ll figure it out when I get there. I didn’t feel it would be a good move to take my daughter [Ricki, 6,] away from her life for a guy if I don’t know if it’s going to work out a month down the road.”
Brad blames the breakup entirely on himself and says his temper is what ultimately caused their demise.
“I would get so angry and would feel almost violated,” he says. “I would keep those feelings bottled up, and by the time I had the chance to speak to Em … I would let that negative emotion come flooding out, and it was almost as if she was being attacked.”
Although it sounds like it was a slow and painful breakup, Emily looks at it from a mature perspective.
“There was no huge blow-up fight,” she says. “It was two adults having the maturity to step away and realize that just because we love each other doesn’t mean we’re right for each other.”
Reasons why Brad and Emily’s relationship fell apart:
- Emily grew jealous of other contestants on the show: “Even when there were 30 girls, he still made me feel special. But then, watching it back, he had a tendency to do the same thing to a couple of girls. So I felt less and less special.”
- Emily wasn’t exactly eager to uproot and move to Texas: “I can’t just say I’ll figure it out when I get there. I didn’t feel it would be a good move to take my daughter away from her life for a guy if I don’t know if it’s going to work out a month down the road.”
- Long-distance relationships are never easy, and Emily knows firsthand: “There’s nothing worse than fighting with someone you love so much. When we were together, we were really happy. But the second we were a part, it got hard.”
- Brad wasn’t ready to be a dad: “He didn’t understand why I couldn’t go on a random vacation the next day. It’s hard for me to say, ‘I am so tired, I want to go to bed at 8,’ and for him to understand … It’s hard to convey what it’s like to be a parent to somebody that has no idea.”
- Emily wishes they had met at church: “I feel confident that had we lived in the same city and met at church, we could have made it.”
- Brad’s temper. Even he admits it: “I would get so angry and would feel almost violated. I would keep those feelings bottled up, and by the time I had the chance to speak to Em…I would let that negative emotion come flooding out, and it was almost as if she was being attacked.”
— Chloe Melas
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