Brendan Morais is speaking out after saying goodbye to Tayshia Adams on The Bachelorette.
On Monday, Dec. 21, Bachelor Nation watched as the commercial roofer, who recently went through a divorce, told Tayshia he just wasn't ready to get engaged. After the tearful departure, Tayshia admitted during a confessional that she thought she'd end up with Brendan, which made his exit extra heartbreaking.
After watching part one of The Bachelorette finale, Bachelor Happy Hour hosts Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin spoke with Brendan about his decision to leave the show despite making it so far in the journey.
"For me, what I set out to do since day one was just be myself and be genuine and live each and every moment and be as true as I possibly can be," he shared on the Dec. 22 podcast episode. "And going into this crazy experience and journey I didn't know what to expect and I didn't know if this would work for me."
"Finding Tayshia, as amazing and beautiful as she was and that connection was true and really there," he continued, "I was gonna take it day by day and as I moved farther along into the process, I tried to be as true to myself and not doing anything for any other reason...any other outside factors."
Brendan went on to say that he didn't want to do something that might, in the long run, "hurt" Tayshia.
"I think the biggest takeaway for me was...I know I want a family, I know I want a wife and children, but knowing and being completely ready was something that I discovered—there was a little gap there," he explained to the co-hosts. "There was a little gap that I need to close at some point and I need to figure that out for myself."
Brendan added that it wasn't an easy decision to walk away. "I had this beautiful, amazing woman right in front of me and for some reason, that I still wrestle with today, I self-sabotaged the moment," he said. "I was protecting myself in a sense, you know, I was protecting myself from getting hurt and as corny as that is, as stupid as that sounds, I have been married before and I feel like it would be a disservice to Tayshia in a way if I went into an engagement and I got down on one knee and I wasn't completely, 100 percent all in and ready."
Brendan also took to Instagram on Dec. 22 to reflect on his Bachelorette journey. "First and foremost grateful for the opportunity to have met the beautiful Tayshia. Having shared unforgettable moments together through this once in a lifetime experience is something I will cherish for the rest of my life," he wrote. "Unfortunately, we didn't have the fairytale ending. However, I leave this journey on my way to being a better man."
"I am certainly not perfect but I hope to learn and grow from every decision I make and every experience I am apart of," he continued. "Tayshia is a special woman who deserves every amazing thing life has to offer and I'm so thankful to have been a part of her journey. I wish her the very best and many blessings in life."
Part two of Tayshia's Bachelorette finale airs Tuesday on ABC.