UPDATE: Jenna Cooper has responded to allegations that she cheated on her Bachelor in Paradise fiancé Jordan Kimball. Cooper uploaded a selfie on Instagram and addressed the situation. She wrote, "I want to start by saying those texts were completely fabricated, and I never sent them to anyone. I did not cheat on Jordan, and I have nothing to hide. I have been extremely open and vulnerable throughout this whole process. I was looking for love, and I found it. I was excited to share this journey with all of you. I am hurt by these fake texts, and that anyone would believe this story so quickly without proof. I have an attorney helping me investigate this hurtful and fraudulent attack on my character. We are evaluating all legal remedies available to punish those responsible."
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It's over for Bachelor in Paradise couple Jordan Kimball and Jenna Cooper.
On Tuesday night, Bachelor Nation watched as the model got down on one knee and proposed to Cooper on the show's season five finale. However, that same day, Reality Steve posted screenshots of an alleged text conversation between Cooper and an unidentified man, in which Cooper said that she and Kimball "aren't together for real" and that she didn't "even like him."
Though Cooper has denied the cheating allegations, Kimball has now revealed that he's "removing" himself from the relationship. "I'm removing myself from the relationship with intentions to take care of myself and find my happiness," Kimball tells Entertainment Weekly. "I will not lash out, I will not try to convince people that she is a bad person. You will not see me pursue any kind of vengeance on her."
"I care about Jenna. Everyone saw me fall at first sight for her and I will never deny that," Kimball continues. "Just because this has happened does not mean that I will discount how I felt for her. I will not try to play it off that it doesn't hurt. I would be doing the love that I felt for her an injustice if I were to say that I didn't feel strongly about this."
Kimball also shares that he doesn't want to wait around to see if the allegations are fake. "I just can't wait and hold on to see if this is fake," he tells EW. "I allowed myself to be played, but I will not allow myself to be fooled by this. If this turns out to be fake, then hey, it's a good thing that I didn't lash out at her. But I cannot take a chance with my heart."
On Wednesday, Kimball took to Instagram to react to all of the relationship speculation, posting a message to his fans along with a black-and-white photo of himself striking a somber pose.
"To think, to feel, to fall. These emotions interact with experiences and people, when you find a person you think about them, you feel when they feel and sometimes you fall," Kimball began. "When you're in love with even the experiences you've had with them it's something to respect. Being careless with someone that you give your heart to and reach milestones with isn't sensible no matter what the terms may be."
"I have not had an easy life and having struggles allows me to grab onto tough times and discard them from my path," he continued. "I deal with unreasonable circumstances reasonably and have come to terms with a decision to remove myself from the relationship, it breaks my heart to think, feel and fall for this. It's dropped me. Fumbling emotions and being understanding is not easy."
Kimball concluded his message with, "I'll be taking time to pursue my inner peace and she will always have me to talk to, if you've reached out to me, allow me time. Thank you to those that have."
The reality star also took to his Instagram Story to write, "Thank you for the support to all those who have been so kind."
In response to his post, Kimball has been receiving a lot of love from his Bachelor in Paradise co-stars. "Love you bro," Colton Underwood wrote, while Kevin Wendt told Kimball, "We got your back. Always."
(This article was originally published on Sept. 12, 2018 at 12:42 p.m.)