Jacob Rapini knows he messed up.
He just hopes ABC viewers, and one ABC personality in particular, will forgive him.
On this Monday’s episode of The Bachelorette, the aspiring husband told co-lead Gabby Windey that he was more interested in pursuing a romance with her fellow star, Rachel.
And he didn’t exactly let Gabby down easy in the process.
“I don’t know if we’ve had the kind of connection I wanted to have with you from the get go,” Jacob told Gabby.
“Even if, say, you were the only person here, I don’t think I could have the heart to continue because at the end of the day we’re trying to find something for the fucking rest of our lives.
“But obviously, you’re smoking.”
Yup. He really did toss that superficial comment in at the end, and fans took notice.
“End of the chapter but not the end of the romance novel,” he wrote on Instagram after the episode ended.
“After watching yourself you realize so much of how you need to realign your approach.
“For me, this experience was extremely testing mentally and emotionally.
“If you watched episode 3, you know I used some choice wording when talking to a beautiful woman.”
Continued the contestant:
“I want to take this moment to apologize to @gabby.windey for not taking into consideration her feelings.
“What I said was ignorant and not appropriate for the moment.
“I realized you don’t know what someone could be going through or where their headspace is at. Listening instead of explaining would have gone a lot further.
“Personally, I wouldn’t want anyone to say what I said to me.”
And he concluded as follows:
“I have no excuses. What was said was said. I can’t go back on the past.
“I can only learn from this moment to understand everyone deserves to be respected.
“We all make mistakes, but as a man, I won’t take this for granted. I wish Gabby all the best in her pursuit for love. I know she’ll find it.”
Jacob, meanwhile, wasn’t the only one who spoke out amid backlash after Monday’s episode.
Hayden Markowitz, who referred to Gabby as “rough around the edges,” admitted he regretted his remarks, too.
“What a night, with so many emotions going on I have to say I have an overwhelming amount of respect for Gabby and Rachel.
“Looking back I can definitely say I may not be the most eloquent with words at times but I aimed my heart in the direction of my intentions,” Hayden said on Monday via Instagram.
To see who continues to advance on this season of The Bachelorette, visit our section of The Bachelorette spoilers now!