Arie Luyendyk Jr. Reveals Why He Kept Krystal Around After ‘Misguided’ Tantrum

More than one glass of wine was drunk in frustration Monday night after Arie Luyendyk Jr. gave season villain Krystal the night’s final rose, even after she freaked out and called him a “liar” over a bowling bet.

But the 36-year-old race car driver offered some insight into his thought process that night, blogging about the episode for PEOPLE on Tuesday.

“The fallout after the bowling date was one of the most disappointing and stressful parts of my time as the Bachelor,” he started, referring to Krystal’s refusal to come to the latter half of a group date after Luyendyk changed his mind and allowed the losers of a bowling bet to attend a cocktail part with him.

“Krystal’s actions were confusing and misguided,” he continued. “There are two sides to every coin, though. For all the obvious disappointment I felt about Krystal, I felt equal parts pride and connection to the women who came to my defense.”

He then praised Bekah M., with whom he had his own drama over their 14-year age gap in last week’s episode, and Kendall, who revealed she would try human meat under the right circumstance, saying they “really put themselves out there to defend me and my actions, and it says so much about their character that they were willing to speak out on behalf of me.”

He then addressed the fan outrage over him keeping Krystal around, while sending home Ashley, Marikh and Maquel, who had just returned to the show after the death of a grandparent.

“I know after all that happened this week many people will question keeping Krystal,” the race car driver said. “The thing about love is it’s not always easy. It’s not all exotic dates and romantic one-on-ones and sunsets. She told me she was stressed and made a mistake and got angry. I’ve made mistakes and been upset about things I shouldn’t have been upset about. We all do that, it’s human.”

“Was it a red flag for me personally? Yes, totally. I still, to this day, see the events very differently from her. The choice to not join the cocktail party was pretty immature and irrational. But the connection Krystal and I had that first week in Scottsdale was real and I wasn’t ready to throw it away just because she was having a hard week. That didn’t seem fair because we’ve all had irrational blow-ups before,” he continued.

The ABC dating show hunk then revealed that he hadn’t known that all the other women were confronting Krystal while he took them aside individually for alone time.

“It was wild watching all the women confront Krystal,” he said. “I am attracted to people who are strong and can stand up for themselves, and though I had no idea these confrontations were happening, I am proud of everyone for speaking their mind. For me, this night was very different. I had tough decisions to make and needed to focus on the relationships that I felt could end in love and an engagement.”

He then teased next week, which includes an “insane and dramatic” two-on-one date in Paris, France.

​”This week was really stressful — I wish I could say that the hard part of this ended now,” he said. “The two-on-one is next week, which I knew would be difficult but is even more insane and dramatic than I anticipated.”

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo credit: ABC