Colton Underwood: I was blindsided by my 'The Bachelorette' exit and Tia Booth's strong feelings for me -- I wasn't even thinking about Tia

Colton Underwood is opening up about his elimination from The Bachelorette, which occurred right after his former fling, Tia Booth, admitted to Becca Kufrin she still had feelings for him.


"I was actually blindsided. I was not expecting that at all," Colton told Ashley Iaconetti and Ben Higgins during an appearance on their Almost Famous podcast, later adding that he does "not fault" Tia nor is he "mad at her" for his breakup with Becca.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' SPOILERS: WHO DID BECCA PICK AS HER WINNER BACHELOR? WHO WAS HER RUNNER-UP?

But Colton confessed it "was a little frustrating" and "very confusing for him" to have Tia come back and "sort of play a part" in the split.

"I was so focused on Becca, that I wasn't even thinking about [Tia]," he admitted.


"That's where it was like, for me, she has such strong feelings to come back and risk her friendship with Becca and risk her image to come pull me out of a relationship and try to pursue me, and I'm not even thinking about her... So I was like, 'Am I missing something?' I thought we were on completely different pages."

The former professional football player briefly dated Tia before Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s season of The Bachelor began airing. Due to bad timing and Colton's casting on The Bachelorette, they opted to nip their romance in the bud.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)

When Becca was made aware of Colton and Tia's fling on The Bachelorette, she only decided to pursue the charity founder further once she received Tia's permission and blessing during a Week 3 group date.

"I thought, 'I'm glad the Tia thing is in the past' because I thought it was in the past," Colton said on the podcast.


"After we left that spa date... all three of us spent time talking to one another and we got it all out there and we were all on the same page and moving forward with it, so it was a little shocking when I heard she came back to talk to Becca."

However, Tia dropped the bomb on Becca about her feelings for Colton seemingly one day after The Bachelorette star traveled to his hometown and met his family.

RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)

Not only had Becca and Colton developed a serious relationship by this point, but Colton also confessed he was "in love" with her.

So does Colton believe Becca when she said in Monday night's episode she was following her heart and Tia's appearance had no impact on her decision to let Colton go?


"I don't know if we can completely say my future with Becca was ended 100 percent on Tia," Colton reasoned.

"I'm sure that that was a heavy portion of why my future with Becca was ended, so yeah, of course I was sad. I was disappointed, I was frustrated, I was pissed off. I had every emotion going through me at that time and I didn't know how to process it. I mean, I think -- you guys watched the breakup -- I was speechless."

RELATED LINK: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHO'S STILL TOGETHER? WHO BROKE UP? (PHOTOS)

Colton added on the podcast, "I had nothing to say because I was so caught off guard and I even had the conversation with Chris Harrison saying, 'Hey, what's going down in the Fantasy Suite? Because I can't wait to have this conversation, this alone time, with Becca.' I was already thinking next week."

Colton's journey to find love on reality TV, however, is not over.


He will join Tia and many other fan-favorites from the franchise on Season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise this summer. To read what happens between Colton and Tia in Mexico, click here for Paradise spoilers.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski