Bachelor in Paradise star Justin Glaze has claimed Lexi Young's behavior is to blame for his shocking last minute decision to blindside Lexi and give his rose to Susie Evans at the Rose Ceremony.
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But when Susie arrived on the beach, she gave Lexi the greenlight to pursue Justin with a hopeful heart.
Lexi therefore let Justin know during the cocktail party preceding the second Rose Ceremony of the season that she wanted to give their relationship a real shot.
"During that conversation, I was like, 'Man, this sounds great. This is everything I want to hear,' and then I kind of took a step back and was like, 'Wait a minute, the men have got the roses tonight [to hand out!]'" Justin recalled during the Tuesday, July 15 episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast.
"So once that kind of sank in, I was like, 'Man!' And I think because of the rain, I just didn't have an opportunity to have a follow-up conversation with her. And I didn't want to press her on anything during that conversation because it all sounded good."
But Justin said he couldn't forget about how, just 24 hours prior, Lexi had "wanted to put a pin" in their romance and end it.
"I was like, 'I admittedly understand that you spiraled a little bit, but that wasn't just about the Susie factor. It's about all the other things that were thrown out, that were a cause for concern on your end,'" Justin explained.
Justin, for example, claimed Lexi had said she was worried about Justin trying to grow his business in Los Angeles while she was living in Atlanta and didn't want to leave Georgia.
"[Lexi said], 'I don't know if we want the same things out of life,'" Justin alleged.
He continued: "Post her conversation [with Susie], [I asked], 'Now you have no hesitation about us, geographically [and such]? Like, none of them anymore?' So that was kind of like a 'huh?' moment for me, because of how sudden of a 180 it was."
Justin ended up giving his rose to Susie at the Rose Ceremony so that Susie's Paradise journey wouldn't be cut short, and his decision appeared to shock Lexi as well as the rest of the cast.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOWBefore even hearing Justin out, Lexi said she was done with the show and wanted to go home.
"It would be different if I was really feeling, like, she was also pursuing me and something was there, but the whole time, it kind of felt like pulling teeth to get something from her," Justin confessed of his experience with Lexi.
"And it was little things, like, [the cocktail party] was the first time she threw a leg up on me or was kind of physical and touchy with me, right? I was like, 'Man, this is what I want but where has anything like this been this whole time?!'"
The podcast's co-host Joe Amabile asked Justin if the Rose Ceremony would have played out differently had Lexi given him the affection and communication he desired.
"Totally! Totally. It was such a split-second decision," Justin confirmed to Joe and his co-host Serena Pitt.
"But in my brain, I was like, 'Okay, there's one person I've known for four or five days that isn't really giving me any rhythm here. I can't really get a true pulse as to how she feels about me and this person could really flip-flop and play me tomorrow when new guys come in.'"
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Justin said aside from that pre-Rose Ceremony cocktail party, Lexi had given him "no reason to believe" that she wanted to pursue something with him long-term.
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"That's on one hand. And on this other hand, I have this person that's been my best friend for an entire year and who continued to be my best friend through dating her for over an entire year, who I have so much love, admiration and respect for."
Justin said he wanted to be selfless for the most selfless person he knows, Susie, and give her a fair shot at finding love in Paradise.
"[Jeremy Simon] is the only guy that pulled her, and I felt so bad. So those are the things I weighed out, and it's ultimately what led to my decision," Justin explained.
"I could help this person out or take a risk on these question marks I have [with Lexi]."
Justin also confirmed that had Jeremy given his rose to Susie, he'd would've seen things through with Lexi.
"I'd pray for the best and take her at her word that [retreating] would no longer be an issue and we could all co-exist," Justin said. "But obviously that's not what happened."
Justin elaborated on how it was "very tough" for him to "get an accurate read on Lexi" for days leading up to that shocking Rose Ceremony.
Justin pointed out how Lexi, for example, was "uncomfortable in the environment" and didn't want to kiss on-camera because her father and his colleagues would be watching.
"I was like, 'That's fair, but it's also tough.' And through it all, I just tried my best to have grace and be gentle and kind... and be that source of comfort for her," Justin explained.
"And then you throw in that situation with Susie, which she didn't sign up for. So I just tried to have empathy for her... and be as understanding as possible."
Justin recalled finding special foods for Lexi -- who struggles with endometriosis -- and dating like he would in real life rather than on a reality TV show.
"I tried to do what I could to step in and give her reassurance and show up for her without overstepping or doing too much," Justin shared.
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Justin also said that when Lexi was throwing out reasons as to why they wouldn't work out, such as the distance between them, Justin told her that she never even gave him a chance to have those type of conversations.
"[I told Lexi], 'You haven't asked me if I'm open to relocating. You haven't asked me what I want family-wise and how many kids. I want to have those conversations, but it's hard to build up to those meaningful conversations when you're really not around that much for us to have those small, special moments to get more comfortable with each other,'" Justin said.
"And, I give her credit, she was like, 'I am spiraling right now and I'm projecting. I tend to do that.' And so she apologized for it, and I understood... It's a very high-stress environment."
When Lexi was allegedly spiraling, she also allegedly suggested to Justin that he should talk to other girls.
"She was like, 'Maybe I want to talk to other guys,' and I was like, 'Hey, totally. I'm not a psychopath. We've known each other for four days, so feel free.' But it was a bit frustrating," Justin admitted.
Justin said Lexi did, in fact, have conversations with other guys but she ended up going back to him each and every time.
For Justin's part, he claimed he was "genuinely not interested" in any other women on the beach and so he didn't want to waste his time trying to get to know other bachelorettes.
Also during his podcast appearance, Justin took a little jab at Lexi for allegedly being fake.
"Maybe the second day, I thought it was kind of awkward, or it was interesting, because watching it back, at the beginning, I think it was her who was like, 'Who is his ex again?' And then I think [Jess Edwards] was like, 'Susie.' And I was like, 'Didn't you talk to [Susie before the show]?" Justin alleged.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
