The Bachelorette star JoJo Fletcher's televised journey to find love begins in a matter of hours, and now that filming has wrapped, the star herself is able to open up about it all.

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When The Bachelorette premieres Monday, May 23 at 9PM ET/PT, fans will follow JoJo as she meets and dates 26 eligible suitors in the hope of finding her future husband. There will even be a "mystery man" making waves.

Preview clips of The Bachelorette's upcoming twelfth edition have already been released by ABC, and it appears JoJo, a 25-year-old real estate developer from Dallas, TX, will endure quite an emotional rollercoaster.

During a Friday conference call with reporters, JoJo talked about her experience on The Bachelorette following her brutal split from The Bachelor's Season 20 star Ben Higgins. Below is the concluding portion of her interview.

Is there a date that sticks out in your mind you're most excited to watch on The Bachelorette?

JoJo Fletcher: Oh gosh. There were so many amazing dates. I will be honest, in the beginning, I really loved the Group Dates. I think they were so much fun and there was so much energy. I think viewers are going to get a kick out of a lot of these Group Dates, so I'm excited to see how those play out.

Now that you've been in the driver's seat on The Bachelorette, do you have an understanding of what Ben was going through when he was on The Bachelor in terms of caring about multiple people?

JoJo Fletcher: Oh, absolutely! I think that is the most surprising thing for me. Because last season, I thought I understood. I thought that I could be an outsider looking in and really understand what he was going through.

But being in it, it makes so much more sense to me now. The whole thing about Ben saying, "I love you," and how he had cared for two people at once, I was like, "How is that possible?" I definitely can see how that is possible now.

Could you talk more about the aftermath of your split from Ben? What exactly did you go through once you got home after filming wrapped? How did you cope with the heartbreak?

JoJo Fletcher: Absolutely. When I left Jamaica, I think I was more shocked than anything. I think the real sadness set in, like the real core of sadness set in, a couple of days after. It's really hard in that moment to process it all, but when it sets in, it's tough.

This is a breakup that's very different than most that you go through, because normally when you break up with somebody... sometimes you have that temptation to want to call or text them, or you have that fear that you're going to bump into them on the street. This is different. I went home and I just stayed home.

I spent time with my family and my best friend, and I just kind of dealt with all of those emotions that came with it. I didn't really go out much. I just stayed with family. And I think the part that helped me the most was the fact that it is kind of a cold-turkey breakup.

You don't have that fear of bumping into them or that temptation of wanting to call them. And also, being able to watch the season back and watch my relationship with Ben and watch the relationship he had with [Lauren Bushnell], that's something that really helped me understand it all.

So you understand now why Ben chose Lauren B. over you after watching the season unfold on TV?

JoJo Fletcher: Yeah, I did. And at some points, it was sad and it was hard for me to watch. Because, you know, when I was in it, I had no idea that that was happening. So being able to watch it back, it was clear as day to me that there was a difference -- there was a big difference between how his relationship with Lauren was and how his relationship with me was.

I think that both were really valuable, and I think there's no doubt he could love me. But I was able to see that difference, so it made more sense to me at least.

Did you do anything in preparation for being on TV again?

JoJo Fletcher: No, (laughs) not really. As far as getting myself in shape and that sort of thing, I didn't have much time. And I will be really honest in saying I tried to go to the gym with a trainer twice and it was the hardest (laughs) thing I've ever done. I'm not going to lie. So I will say it was a one-time effort where after I was like, "Okay, I am who I am. This is me. So, let's do it."

Did you have any dos or don'ts going in before?

JoJo Fletcher: Dos and don'ts. Ugh, I can't say that I did. I'm not the type of person that makes these lists and tries to follow them. I'm really just go with the flow, and I try to just feel it out and be myself, and whatever happens, happens. But yeah, I didn't have any, like, "I'm definitely not going to do this," or, "I'm definitely going to do this."

I will say the biggest thing is I really wanted to make sure that I didn't say too much too soon, that I didn't give anyone too much hope in something -- unless I knew that that's exactly how it's going to [play out]. So that's the one thing I really kept in my head all season.

Check Reality TV World's The Bachelorette 12 webpage for the rest of JoJo's pre-season interview.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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