The Bachelorette alum Tino Franco has confessed that he doesn't care to see or speak to his ex-fiancee Rachel Recchia again.
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But Rachel revealed on The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose, which aired in September 2022, that she had to call off her engagement and split from Tino because he had been unfaithful to her and failed to fully explain himself or offer a sincere apology for kissing another woman.
"I know deep in my heart that there is no future there, and I don't think we'll ever speak to each other again," Tino told The Bachelor alum Courtney Robertson during the August 23 episode of her "After Reality" podcast.
Tino said he hasn't really talked to Rachel since their explosive and televised split.
"I think, some odd year ago, she tried to call and I just was kind of like, 'I don't know if we'll ever get to the point where we have something to talk about, but this is way too soon for me,'" Tino admitted.
"But personally, I don't think there's anything for us to talk about."
Rachel has also clearly moved on from Tino. She decided to look for love on Bachelor in Paradise's ninth season, which already filmed and premieres Thursday, September 28 on ABC.
"I'm not a big rehasher or 'I need more closure' person," Tino explained.
"I'm like, 'I think I've seen every little bit of this situation -- and you, [Rachel] -- that I ever need to, so let's just be adults here, chalk it up for the loss it was, and walk away.'"
ABC released a trailer for Bachelor in Paradise during The Bachelorette's Season 20 finale on August 21, and in the promo, Rachel is shown kissing Jordan Vandergriff, a suitor whom she had sent packing during Week 2 of her joint The Bachelorette season with Gabby Windey.
"This is crazy -- getting a second chance," Rachel tells the cameras. "I think things happen for a reason."
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And Bachelor in Paradise host Jesse Palmer also teased during the finale that something may have happened between Rachel and The Bachelorette 20 villain Brayden Bowers. In fact, Rachel and Brayden were sitting next to each other in the live studio audience.
Looking back on the demise of his short-lived relationship with Rachel, Tino acknowledged that he wasn't asking himself the right questions during The Bachelorette process.
While Tino said he thought Rachel was "funny and cute," those qualities were obviously surface level. Had they engaged in more serious conversation, Tino apparently believes Rachel would've realized he wasn't The One for her sooner.
"I don't think I was consciously trying to win, but I think subconsciously, I was really in love with that idea -- and losing was the worst thing that could happen," Tino recalled of fighting for Rachel's heart on the show.
"Time with my therapist has confirmed why that's the case and why that makes logical sense."
Tino told Courtney that, in hindsight, he probably showcased "pick me" energy given The Bachelorette is such a competitive atmosphere with other men.
"I was in love with the idea, more than the person... She's perfect for somebody else out there, and I think asking [serious] questions would've revealed a lot," Tino noted.
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Tino also said he didn't think his kiss with another woman was "definitively cheating," although he admitted it "wasn't cool" to do.
When asked if he'd ever be interested in giving Bachelor in Paradise a shot, Tino told Courtney on her podcast that he's not trying to keep his "relevancy in that world going."
"That's kind of characteristic of how I was the whole time [on The Bachelorette]. When I got back from the experience, all eight or nine weeks of it, I was just so excited to get back to my normal life," Tino explained.
"I was literally like, 'I can't wait to jump into the ocean, get on my bike... see my friends, and talk to my parents."
Tino said it's "sad" the experience is "so tainted" for him now because he really liked and appreciated the whole production team, who had "invested" a lot of time and energy into him.
"I've also been doubling down at work lately... but dating is a little tough because of how poorly it went and how much quality I've found in real life since the show," Tino added. "It's hard for me to convince myself to say, 'Go back into that really tough experience.'"
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When Rachel spoke to Becca Kufrin about her love life during a November episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast, she initially said she'd only be interested in a stint on Bachelor in Paradise if her bestie Michelle Young -- who starred on The Bachelorette's eighteenth season and is single after her split from Nayte Olukoya -- would join her on the beach in Mexico.
But Rachel said at the time she'd "absolutely" star on The Bachelorette again if the show could provide her with her perfect match.
Back in October 2022, Tino said of Rachel on an episode of "The Viall Files" podcast that he "really, really loved Rachel through the whole process" and he still thought about her every day.
"It's just after everything that has transpired, I think the best way to put it is -- I've moved on. We really, really fell extremely in love and it was something beautiful that I haven't experienced," Tino explained.
Tino, however, came to realize there "is somebody who is just more compatible for" Rachel out there.
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Around that same time, Rachel complained on the "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe" podcast how she just wants a commitment from a man and to be done with dating.
"The fact that I find myself now in the same position [as I was in before The Bachelor], I'm like, 'I don't want to do this.' I wanted to find my person," Rachel vented.
"I want to get married, I want to start a family. That's where I'm at in my life. I don't want to go back to the streets, and now I'm forced to! Literally!"
Rachel had extremely emotional journeys on The Bachelor's 26th season as well as her own The Bachelorette season.
The Bachelor 26 star Clayton Echard had slept with both Rachel and Gabby and expressed his love for them in the Fantasy Suites, only to brutally dump them -- simultaneously -- for the woman he was supposedly "the most" in love with, Susie Evans.
On The Bachelorette's nineteenth season, Rachel thought she had found her happily ever after with Tino, but the pair broke up during a "Happy Couple" visit in August 2022 because Tino had kissed another woman at a bar in July.
"I hope people who have made a mistake like me don't think they're doomed to that fate or to that [identity] because they had a low-character moment," Tino told Nick Viall after the scandal made headlines.
"I certainly believe it doesn't mean you're doomed to low character forever."
During his "The Viall Files" interview, Tino recalled why exactly his relationship with Rachel had fallen apart and why he ultimately cheated on the flight instructor.
Tino also revealed he had locked himself in a bathroom before his After the Final Rose appearance to cry and he initially thought -- after his cheating scandal -- that Rachel wanted to work things out with him.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
