The Bachelorette star Charity Lawson has dished about how Xavier Bonner "blindsided" her with the revelation he had cheated on an ex-girlfriend and how she thought his timing was "selfish."
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Charity, having been in a self-described "toxic" six-year relationship in which the man had repeatedly cheated on her, understandably felt triggered and immediately got upset and emotional.
"That was a very, very hard conversation and an extremely harder conversation to watch back because, in that moment, I had so much going through my head," Charity told The Hollywood Reporter.
"I personally felt blindsided to have that conversation come up at that point in the journey."
Xavier had been given a one-on-one date in Washington, and they also spent quality time together during his hometown date -- not to mention all the group dates he had shared with other men in previous weeks.
"I thought it was very selfish that he waited up until that point to have that very heavy conversation," Charity explained.
She elaborated, "We're in Fiji, a week away from proposal, and to have a bombshell like that disclosed to me and trying to navigate and see how this is even possible to bounce back from, that was very hard."
While Charity appreciated Xavier's honesty and transparency, she apparently believes he could've approached that conversation earlier and in a more tactful manner.
Xavier, for instance, was unable to reassure Charity that he'd never cheat on her if they ended up together.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Charity could tell that Xavier was doubting himself and whether he could commit -- and truly be loyal to -- one woman for the rest of his life.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"It wasn't necessarily him disclosing a thing, but it was the questions that followed up. And for me, I'm a person that when you drop a bombshell like that, I'm going to try, to the best of my ability, to get to the root of it and make sense of it for my life," Charity said.
"And so the follow-up questions did not help him in any sense because he kept digging himself a deeper hole."
Not only was Xavier questioning if he was ready to propose marriage at the end of the process, but he also confessed to Charity that his heart and his head were at odds.
Xavier said his heart didn't doubt that he wanted a future with Charity but his head was second-guessing his ability to be the boyfriend that she deserves as well as her potential husband down the road.
And then when Charity asked the suitor point blank if he could "show up" for her and make their relationship work after the show, no matter what, Xavier claimed in order for him to get to that point, he needed more time with her.
"I need to see more," Xavier told Charity, which infuriated The Bachelorette star since she thought she had shown Xavier all that she has to give.
Charity recalled to The Hollywood Reporter, "I knew, in that moment, this is absolutely not something that I need in my life, and this is not what I came in here looking for -- qualities of a man that's going to be my future husband."
Charity didn't believe Xavier had done enough work on himself to change and not repeat the mistakes of his past.
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Charity therefore eliminated Xavier during the dinner portion of their date in Fiji in third place, before they could even enjoy the overnight part of the date.
"I was shown everything that I needed to see, and I'm grateful that I was shown it in that moment -- because God forbid it happened afterwards," Charity concluded.
Charity was devastated once she sent Xavier packing, and it appeared the bachelor was also caught off-guard and didn't have enough time to wrap his mind around the fact he had just lost the woman he was falling in love with.
The 27-year-old biomedical scientist from Carrboro, NC, said in his final words, "I know that I just hurt her so much. That woman put her heart on the line every single day, and I doubted myself and us, and I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have doubted it."
The next morning, however, Charity woke up feeling refreshed and confident in her other two connections with Dotun Olubeko and Joey Graziadei, both of whom she realized she was "in love" with by the end of Fantasy Suites.
"This isn't Build-A-Man Workshop," Charity noted on The Bachelorette's latest episode.
The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All is set to air Monday, August 14, and then the following week, fans will be able to see whether Charity welcomed Aaron Bryant back into the competition.
Aaron, whom Charity ousted after her Final 4 men's hometown dates, traveled all the way to Fiji for closure or, better yet, another chance with The Bachelorette star.
Aaron told the cameras that Charity was worth fighting for, and Charity was blown away by the bold gesture.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Click here to read spoilers about Charity's The Bachelorette season and who Charity picked as her winner.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
