The Bachelorette's hometown dates can always get a bit messy, but last night, Dean Unglert's family took things to a whole new level.
Star Rachel Lindsay accompanied Unglert to his dad's home in Colorado for what was supposed to be a chance for Rachel to get to know Dean's family, but since Dean hadn't spoken to his father in two years, it became a heated reunion.
At first, it seemed as if Dean and his dad might actually smooth things over, but the conversation fell apart, with Dean's dad refusing to accept Dean's feelings of abandonment after his mother's death a decade ago.
It was some tough stuff, especially for the show that was so recently known for its surplus of whabooms.
Unglert sat down with E! News to open up about the emotional episode, and he does not regret having such an intensely personal scene play out on TV.
"There was some consideration of, like, involving my friends in the hometown date instead of my family, but at the end of the day, but I just think that, for Rachel's sake, I think it was important for her to meet my family," he tells us. "It's like, as raw as that was, it's just reality so there's no point in hiding any of it, you know?"
He does, however, wish that the date hadn't focused so strongly on him and his relationship with his father.
"My only drawback from that hometown date is the date was more centered around my father and me and less about my family and Rachel, so I kind of feel bad for taking away that from her, but it definitely escalated much quicker than I expected it to," Unglert says.
Dean tells us that he was surprised that his family even agreed to participate in the date, especially since they weren't all supportive of his appearance on the The Bachelorette.
"My sister wasn't very supportive of the decision, she's like, I don't think you should do it," he explains. "Then the next day I left for filming, so then to see her at the hometown was kind of surprising."
As for his relationship with his father, they're still not exactly on speaking terms.
"My father has texted me maybe once since then, but we haven't really had much more of a correspondence since then," Dean reveals. "I'll always love my father for the man that he is. I think I just have to be accepting that we're not really set to have a relationship at this point. I think I personally have a lot of maturing and growing up to do, and maybe once that happens, I'll be in a better spot to have a relationship with him, but it's not today."
Watch the video above to hear more from Dean about his relationship with his family!
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.