Dina Lupancu has admitted she made a "devastating" mistake with Grant Ellis that she believes caused the demise of her relationship with The Bachelor star.
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Grant said the news was "disappointing" and "concerning" because he thought meeting Dina's family would grow their connection, and he ended up eliminating Dina in fourth place.
While Dina is convinced her parents not showing up played a role in Grant's decision to let her go, she is also blaming herself, in part, for their breakup.
"I don't think that I opened up quite as quickly as I could have at times and even in my hometown, when I broke the news to Grant that my family wasn't going to be there, I kind of skirted around the whole thing and tried not to highlight it," Dina told Parade in a recent interview.
"[I] wanted to run away from any uncomfortable feelings... and then when he asked me how I felt about it, I kind of dodged the question. I didn't really want to talk about it."
Dina apparently has regrets when looking back on how she handled that situation.
"I wish that I would have given him more space to feel like he could talk to me about it, and said, 'This is really important, and the potential to get engaged in two weeks, so how could I not meet your family?'" Dina shared.
"This is really devastating for me and I feel like that's my fault because I never gave him that space. I think that was ultimately my demise."
Dina also took responsibility for not preparing her family enough for The Bachelor experience and how the journey typically ends.
"So [my dad] thought the show was something it wasn't, and that's my fault for not explaining it," Dina said.
"I kind of told him the basics: 'It's a guy and he's a great guy and he's got this and that going for him and he's just looking for his person and it's a little bit of an experiment.' I might have glossed over the engagement part."
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Dina admitted that she should have worked harder to persuade her family that The Bachelor was important to her and she wanted them to participate.
"I [should] have went back and really stressed and advocated for my family to be there, and talk to them and try to get them to show up for me and not fight about it," Dina noted.
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When asked if he denied Dina a rose after hometowns because he couldn't meet her parents, Grant confirmed, "No, it wasn't that," during an interview with Extra.
"I didn't have the ideal situation growing up -- and I'm not saying she didn't -- I'm saying that her family not being there, I could understand. I could understand it," Grant explained.
Grant therefore said he was "willing to work through that" with Dina during her hometown date.
"It wasn't that," Grant reiterated. "It was just things that I'm looking for in my partner that didn't have anything to do with that aspect."
But Dina pointed out how her family's refusal to meet The Bachelor star clearly affected him.
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"And I was like, 'That's the first time I heard that.' He never told me that it was going to be a 'make-or-break' situation. He never made me feel like it was such a big deal."
Dina explained how she did some "self-reflecting" and believes her family's absence was truly a make-or-break with Grant.
"And it ultimately was a break because he didn't get to meet them and my family didn't get to meet him, so how could we move forward with an engagement in two weeks when you don't have that family meeting?" Dina reasoned.
Dina pointed out that it "made sense" she got eliminated since her family couldn't get to know Grant and vice versa.
"Obviously it could've changed the ending potentially, but we can't go back to that because we can't undo it," Dina told Extra.
Grant ended up handing out roses to Juliana Pasquarosa, Litia Garr and Zoe McGrady, who will be shown receiving Fantasy Suite dates later this season.
Even though Dina didn't find lasting love on The Bachelor, she hinted that she's still optimistic about finding her future husband.
Dina said her dad likes setting people up -- and has been successful at it -- and she may be interested in appearing on Bachelor in Paradise's upcoming tenth season.
"Do I think that Grant ultimately was my person? No. That's okay," Dina concluded.
"I have to take everything I learned and make sure I'm open and vulnerable in my next relationship."
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Click here to read spoilers that reveal what happens on the rest of Grant Ellis' The Bachelor season, including his winner and runner-up.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
