Peter Weber is reclaiming his baggage after a recent stretch of turbulence surrounding his breakup with Kelley Flanagan.
The 29-year-old pilot took to his Acast podcast, Bachelors in the City, on Wednesday, May 26 to address his ex's comments from earlier this month about their relationship.
As fans know, Pete followed his failed engagements to Hannah Ann Sluss and Madison Prewett by dating Kelley for 10 months after meeting during his season of The Bachelor that aired in 2020. On Dec. 31, 2020, Peter announced he and the tax attorney, also 29, had gone their separate ways, just before they had planned to move to New York City together.
"I'm gonna be so brutally, brutally honest with you guys for however long this goes on for, and just speak from the heart," the aviator shared on the podcast. He said about Kelley's latest remarks, "I thought it was very calculated. I thought, after hearing how it went, that it was very trying to push for a headline. Very just calculated, very disingenuous."
Peter continued, "That's too bad. I didn't necessarily expect that from Kelley—it kind of caught me off guard."
On May 20, Kelley appeared on the Chicks in the Office podcast, where she said she realized the two of them had different interests, including that he, ahem, "loves Pokémon cards." She claimed Peter announced their breakup on New Year's Eve despite her asking him to wait a few days, and that she later gave their relationship another chance around Valentine's Day before ultimately telling him to "get the hell out of my life."
For his part, Peter acknowledged on Bachelors in the City that the relationship "was not perfect," but that he's "so, so grateful" for their time together and still cares "very deeply" for her.
"The breakup was obviously very hard on the both of us," he said. "I've been very open how—and I'm not just saying this—truly, Kelley was the best relationship that I have ever had in my life, and could not be more grateful for the 10 months we had together."
He referred to himself as "more than 100 percent moved on" and said he now knows they aren't meant to be together. Peter said he sees Kelley's podcast interviews as a sign of her "wanting to ride it as long as possibly she can and make headlines and get people talking."
According to Peter, the reason for the breakup was that "they were different in a lot of ways." Indeed, he explained his decision to announce the split on New Year's Eve as himself having decided, "I need to leave this in 2020."
And if you were wondering whether this would be the place that Peter would defend his love for Pokémon cards, well, you're in luck.
"I will never apologize for liking Pokémon cards," he said, citing the appeal of nostalgia and "how smart they are to be investing in." He claimed Kelley made it seem during their relationship that she enjoyed them too, adding, "Maybe she was just playing along to make me happy." (Ah, that fateful moment when you realize your partner doesn't actually love Pokémon cards as much as you do. We've all been there.)
Ultimately, Peter said he "can't wait to find my person" and is hopeful Kelley can do the same.
"Closure's such a great thing—I can't force Kelley to get closure," he said. "I want her to be happy. Be happy, let this go, let it be."