All good things must come to an end.
After quickly becoming the most polarizing contestant this season, The Bachelor finally bid adieu to Krystal Nielson, the 29-year-old fitness coach, with Arie Luyendyk Jr. bringing her reign of never-ending toasts, tantrum and glitter-bombs to an end on the infamous two-on-one date in Monday night's episode. And while some fans cheered when Krystal was sent packing, with Kendall Long receiving the date rose instead, Arie tells E! News exclusively that it was a "difficult" decision.
"It was difficult in the moment," Arie says. "I think now because I'm seeing the other side of things, yeah, people are like, 'Wow, why did it take you so long?' And it's only been because our relationship was actually really good. It was probably around Fort Lauderdale when things started to break down."
Of course, it was on the bowling date in Fort Lauderdale that Krystal had her breakdown, initially refusing to attend the nighttime portion of a group date after Arie extended the invite to the losing team, a move that made Krystal question his character and call him "a liar."
So why did Arie give her a second chance after her bad post-bowling behavior?
"I wanted to give her another chance because I think a lot of what makes a good relationship is how you get over adversity and how you get through the problems," Arie explains.
Ultimately, it was his connection with Kendall that lead to Krystal's exit.
"Kendall was a rock star that day," Arie gushes. "I got to learn so much about her. She's so articulate and poised and she really made that day fun despite the heavy impact of the two-on-one."
To hear more from Arie about sending Krystal home, and why he won't do an impersonation of her much-tweeted about voice, watch our interview with him above. And tune into E! News tonight at 7 and 11 p.m. for even more scoop on the rest of the season from Arie.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.