Bachelor Pad's Nick Peterson: "My Intentions Were Never to Hurt Rachel"

Monday night's Bachelor Pad finale caused a lot of controversy, and it looks like viewers are still torn between whether winner Nick Peterson is a heartless meanie or the smartest player in the game. 

"It was overwhelming with a lot of people voicing their opinions, both good and bad.  But I've taken a look at my Facebook and Twitter, and there's been a lot of positive responses from most people," Peterson tells E! News.  "But there are still some people that don't see my side."

So what exactly drove him to keep all of the $250,000 rather than sharing half of it with his partner, Rachel Truehart?

"I don't think it was a villainous move. My intentions were never to hurt Rachel. It was a game. It's no different than all the other moves everyone else was making all season. I never lied all season, I never made an enemy. I stayed away, I kept friends with everyone. The goal was to win," Peterson said.

Nick admits that he and Rachel did make an agreement to share the money so they would each walk away with $125,000, but he tells us that it all changed after he watched the last episode of the show.

"Leading up to the finale, everything was fine. I told her we were absolutely sharing it and that was my intention all the way," Peterson shared.  "And then in the last two episodes, which they showed us the night before the finale so we were able to talk about it on air, I saw some of the stuff she said and was like, 'Wow, she's trash talking me!' Telling her friends I don't deserve to be there. She didn't want to be my partner, so I didn't owe her anything."

So will the "absolutely single" Peterson pull a Michael Stagliano by coming back to the house next season?

"I would do it!  I don't know how many girls would want to partner with me, but I'd probably go back for a second time.  And I'm all about sharing the money if I had a connection, and we weren't slapped together," Peterson said. "I'd make a great partner."