Michael Stagliano said he was confused when Ed Swiderski returned to woo The Bachelorette star Jillian Harris during Monday night's episode after previously quitting the competition to supposedly avoid being fired from his job.

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"I think actually in the Rose Ceremony I honestly put my hand up to ask [host] Chris Harrison, 'I don't understand.  Is this legal?  Doesn't this kind of break the structure of the show?'" Stagliano told reporters during a Wednesday conference call.

"I really didn't understand the concept of letting Ed go ahead and leave for about a month and then he'll be back... I didn't understand that."

Despite not knowing what was going on, Stagliano added "at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what I think."

"More importantly, it's all about Jillian," he said.  "If Jillian really cared for Ed and really liked him, then by all means, he should be back and be able to get a rose and continue on."

Stagliano, a 25-year-old break dance instructor from Astoria, NY, was subsequently rejected during Monday night's Rose Ceremony that saw Harris choose her Top 4 suitors.

Not surprisingly, Stagliano was asked by reporters about his take on Wes Hayden -- who suitor Jake Pavelka has adamantly alleged was dating Laurel Kagay during filming for the show.

Monday night's The Bachelorette broadcast featured Harris being confronted by Pavelka, who returned to the show after previously being eliminated to inform her that Hayden had repeatedly told him that he did have a girlfriend going into filming.

"I honestly don't know.  I never talked to Wes at all.  I never had any of that light shed on me, you know, whether or not he had a girlfriend," Stagliano told reporters. 

"I do know -- and I will stand by Wes until the day I die -- that he is a really good guy.  He's getting edited kind of badly.  He was there for the right intentions.  But I've been pretty taken back by all this stuff."

Despite sticking up for Hayden, Stagliano also said it was difficult to side against Pavelka.

"I don't think Jake's a liar," he explained.  "I think Jake probably heard something that was disconcerting and that he felt he needed to confront Wes about and tell Jillian about.  I just don't know whether it's fact or fiction."

Stagliano said the return of Swiderski combined with fellow suitor Reid getting the first rose during Monday night's ceremony clued him in on the fact that his goose was cooked.

"I knew I was out.  Honestly, I was like, 'Okay, that's my last straw.'  So when it got down to Jesse, Wes and I, I thought that Wes and I were going home 100%.  Well, I shouldn't say 100%," clarified Stagliano, adding since he was unaware at the time of the whole Hayden/Pavelka confrontation he was unsure what would go down.

"Wes, I thought, very much had his foot in the door," he said.  "But I thought Jesse would get a rose over him."

Jesse didn't get the rose and was rejected along with Stagliano, who said he doesn't know if Hayden is right for Harris -- regardless of if he has a girlfriend or not.

"I don't know that I would say that I think Wes is right for Jillian," he told reporters.  "I think that Wes is kind of being cleverly edited to make it him look like he's said some things that maybe were taken out of context." 

While Stagliano claimed earlier in the conference call that he never talked to Hayden, he subsequently told reporters that the two did sit down at one point and discussed their intentions with Harris.

"I was like, 'Dude, what's your deal?  Aren't you like a rock star?  What are you doing here?'" recalled Stagliano.  "He's like, 'Mike, I'll tell you.  I'm 32.  I've been with a lot of girls, I've done the whole rock star thing and I'm ready to settle down.'  He was speaking the truth when he said that."

After he was rejected, Stagliano made a heart-felt statement about how he really had fallen for Harris and would propose marriage to her if he were to see her again.

"To this day, I still think about her.  I still could not say anything bad about her.  I liked everything that I got to see about her -- all those flaws and all her wonderful qualities... Those are real feelings.  Those would not go away," explained Stagliano, adding that the show's format does make it a little easier to fall in love.

"I think when you get out of the show there's definitely a moment of, 'Wait a minute.  What was that?'  I think you have to admit that it's a hyper-sensitive situation to meet someone.  There's no stress, there's no bills coming in.  You're going on these wonderful dates.  Jillian is the only girl that you see for six weeks or so.  So that has to be stated."

Much was made of Stagliano and Harris' age difference, as he's 25 while she's 29.

"She obviously would talk about that to me directly a few times. But I'm telling you, I never felt like she was older than me," he explained.  "If anything, there were times when I was like, 'This girl is more goofy than I am.'  She's very young at heart.  She's got a lot of personality that I imagine I would not find in a lot of 29-year-olds -- and I mean that as a compliment."

Stagliano assured reporters that to him, age is only a number.

"I did kind of feel a romantic connection there, so it certainly wasn't an issue for me.  But for her, unfortunately, it probably was," he said.

With only four guys left in the running, Stagliano said he thinks Harris will eventually end up with Kiptyn, a 31-year-old business developer from Encinitas, CA.

"I think Kiptyn is a really, really good guy -- very down to earth," he said.  "I don't think there's a lot of humor... He's just very even keel, very mellow.  He contrasts Jillian well, he has a great heart and he's a good guy."

Still, Stagliano said his original frontrunner was his "dog" Jesse.

"I thought he was going to win it for sure."

Stagliano told reporters the season's The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All special is scheduled to film "in about a week," and he's anxious to see Harris.

"I'm really nervous to see her," he said.  "The last thing I did on the show -- other than get dumped -- was make-out with her.  So kind of in my head I went out on a high note."

Stagliano added that's he's currently not dating anyone, but could only blame himself.

"That's my own fault.  I'm like terrified of girls.  I'm a disaster."

Despite being a self-described disaster when it comes to the ladies, Stagliano said he would consider starring in The Bachelor -- and offered an interesting twist involving his twin brother Steve.

"I think Steve and I would make it a really fun show.  We would spice things up a notch.  I love the idea, it's never been done before. I think it'd be great," explained Stagliano. 

"It's extremely exciting to think that Steven and I could find our girls at the same time and propose at the same time and have weddings at the same time.  We're like best-good buddies in the whole wide world.  I really couldn't imagine anything better happening in my life."
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio

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