Devin Strader is here to tell his side of the story.
And he doesn’t sound especially proud of it.
Last week, Strader was lambasted on air by Jenn Tran after The Bachelorette lead proposed to her chosen winner on the show’s season finale.
Two months later, however?
Strader ended the couple’s engagement.
“He had basically said that he didn’t love me anymore and didn’t feel the same way and felt like something had been off,” Tran said on the After the Final Rose special. “He regretted getting engaged and I didn’t know.”
Strader didn’t argue much on air.
But he did later reveal text messages that aimed to prove Tran also wanted to break up with him, and that he REALLY tried to dump Jenn in person.
On September 10, meanwhile, Strader released a 13-minute video on Instagram during which he acknowledged that “there are plenty of people upset with me right now.”
However, the suitor said that he was hoping to use this opportunity to give “a little more context to the situation,” as well as “take accountability and apologize for some of the things that I wasn’t able to say.”
Strader said he was “forced” to break up with Tran over the phone because Jenn asked for a call due to the state of their relationship.
“I did apologize and she was the only one who needed an apology at that moment,” he said in this video.
“I realized I made a mistake and I am sorry. Reflecting back, I didn’t realize that I did make a poor decision and I shouldn’t be playing with people’s feelings especially when it’s regarding their emotions.”
Strader also admitted that he made a mistake by following Maria Georgas on social media this summer.
“I did follow her, I think, the week of August 14. I followed a bunch of Bachelor Nation accounts. But, regardless, it was still an ill-advised decision on my part,” Devin said in this footage.
“I shouldn’t be following people that I have no relationship with whatsoever. I don’t know Maria, I’ve never met Maria, I’ve never met up with Maria, and I will never follow Maria.
“I know I hurt Jen now … I’m just here to apologize for that, so I am sorry.”
Throughout his video, Strader included supposed text messages between Tran and himself, sharing details of their romance that chronicled the happier times… all the way through their breakup and the short conversation they had following The Bachelorette special.
“By no means am I looking to denounce Jenn in any way,” Strader explained of why he did this.
“By no means am I looking to come at her in any way or say anything negative about her. All I’m trying to do here is show this was a two way relationship, and I think we could both be held accountable.”
Strader emphasized that he believes the exes were on “good terms” until they took the stage after The Bachelorette finale… and Tran made her feelings clear in front of Jesse Palmer and millions of viewers.
“I really, really am sorry for the way things played out. My intentions were to never hurt you, and I’m sorry for that hurt that I’ve caused,” Strader said on Instagram this week, addressing his former fiancee directly.
As for Tran these days?
She appears to be holding up just fine in the wake of this split.
