JoJo Fletcher's relationship with former boyfriend Chad Rookstool didn't end with the telephone call The Bachelor viewers saw on camera, according to Rookstool.
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Rookstool made himself known on Ben Higgins' season of The Bachelor when he left flowers and a letter at Fletcher's Dallas home in attempt to win her back during her hometown date with Higgins. Even though viewers saw the flustered and frustrated upcoming The Bachelorette star claim she was done with Rookstool when they spoke on the phone before Higgins met Fletcher's family, Rookstool says that wasn't how things actually played out.
Rookstool, a 38-year-old Dallas salon owner, told In Touch Weekly in a tell-all interview that Fletcher ran right back to him after filming wrapped and Higgins rejected her in favor of his now-fiancee Lauren Bushnell.
"As soon as she got home, we started hanging out every day and being intimate again," Rookstool said. "We were sneaking around the whole time The Bachelor was airing because she wasn't allowed to be seen with me."
Fletcher, 25, allegedly expressed regret over their failed relationship and wished they had never called it quits to begin with.
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"When she got home, she kept telling me she loved me and that we should have stayed together and fought through our issues," Rookstool told In Touch. "She said we would've been married by now, and I agreed with her."
However, according to Rookstool, Fletcher pulled the plug on their relationship four months later because becoming the next Bachelorette was suddenly a real possibility for her.
"JoJo said, 'I don't know if I'm the next Bachelorette, but let's just have a conversation as if I am,'" Rookstool recalled.
Rookstool also said Fletcher envisioned reuniting with him again after The Bachelorette. He dubbed her "the type of person who likes leaving the door open."
"[It's clear to me now] that she was only holding on to me in case she wasn't named the Bachelorette... She tried to tell me she wasn't saying goodbye forever. But I told her that I'm not going to sit around and wait for her [this time], and that was it," Rookstool insisted.
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The Bachelorette's twelfth season began filming last week and will premiere Monday, May 23 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski