If you ask Joey Graziadei, more people on social media should be there to make friends.
Because while the Bachelor ultimately decided Rhode Island boutique owner Sydney Gordon wasn't meant to be part of his journey, he feels bad that the drama followed her home after she was eliminated during his Feb. 12 two-on-one date with Maria Georgas.
"Anyone that's been on the show can understand how difficult it is sometimes to go through this and how much you do things that you wish you could take back or you see yourself in a light that you didn't expect," he explained to E! News' Francesca Amiker in an exclusive interview, referencing the 28-year-old's clash with executive assistant Maria. "No one should be treated with any type of that cruelness that Sydney has been getting."
But it turns out that every reality TV experience has its thorns.
And Sydney has been pricked quite a bit with viewers taking exception to her treatment of Maria, sliding into her DMs calling her a "f–king bitch" and "a skank," as she shared in a Feb. 12 Instagram post.
"I did get to know her in other ways that you obviously didn't see on the show," noted Joey. "I think she's a very sweet person. I obviously know that she's shared that she got lost in the drama that was going on. But no one deserves to be treated that way regardless of what people's opinions are."
As for his take on the not-here-to-make friends situation, "My way of handling the drama was if someone wanted to bring something to me, I would always be willing to talk about it and talk through it," explained the tennis pro, 28. "But I never wanted to go chasing and trying to find answers. Because it's so hard to do in my position."
Instead he did his best to find someone he could volley ideas back and forth with.
"What I always try to focus on was creating connections and building them," he noted. "And if they were open to building the connection and wanted to talk to me about that, then I was all in on that conversation. But if they felt like they needed to bring something up to me, of course, I want to give them a safe space to talk about it."
Take when digital strategist Lexi Young decided to end their love match during the Feb. 19 episode after discovering that he hoped to enjoy a longer engagement before getting married and starting a family.
"I did explain to her that I was open to a different timeline if it's something that we would talk about more," noted the Pennsylvania native. "And she just didn't feel like it was something that we could get on the same page with and I'm completely okay with that. I think what's most important is she got to speak her truth and end it on her own terms."
And while the goodbye was certainly tough, "No regrets there," he insisted, "nothing but respect for Lexi and obviously she'll be an amazing mother someday. And that's what she deserves."
As for his season's promise to deliver the most dramatic finale ever (no, for real this time), he believes viewers will get what they're due. "It's hard that I can't explain what exactly that ending is, but I do think it's great to see that people are invested in it," said Joey. "Hopefully they'll stay for the whole process to figure out what exactly it is."
While we wait to see who might receive Joey's final rose (and perhaps a sparkly Neil Lane diamond), check in with the rest of your favorite Bachelor Nation pairs.