‘Bachelor’ Contestant Krystal Nielson Says Arie Luyendyk Jr. ‘Disrespected’ Her

The Bachelor had no more hated contestant during Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s season than the raspy-voiced Krystal Nielson.

But after being sent home by Luyendyk in Paris, the 29-year-old fitness coach has come to terms with her role as the season villain, she told PEOPLE.

“It got to a point where I realized that I can’t control how I’m going to look on the show, so there’s no point exhausting my energy,” she said. “I’ve made my peace with it.”

Nielson said she now realizes things were never going to work with Luyendyk, 36.

“On the group dates I felt so incredibly disrespected,” she said. “For instance in Tahoe, I was talking with Arie and he grabbed Tia’s hand while having a conversation with me. I felt so disrespected. All the girls were fighting over each other to hold his hand and to kiss him. I was like, ‘This is desperate — I’m not going to do this.’ I would never tolerate that in the real world.”

Ultimately, Nielson said the “breaking point” in their relationship came after the group bowling date, when the race car driver invited the competition’s losers to join the winners on a date that night. She responded with a particularly vicious meltdown, in which she called Luyendyk a “liar” and refused to go on the date.

“I was pissed,” she explained of her reaction. “I had to get it out.”

Since the show has been airing, Nielson said she has been shocked about what people have been saying about her on social media, especially in regards to her brother, who is homeless.

“It’s been gnarly,” she said. “The thing that hurt me the most was talking about how my little brother was right to stay away from me and be on the streets. I can deal with people calling me fat or horse face or I have a big nose or I’m ugly. Whatever — you don’t have a clear television. But to say things about my little brother, that really hit home.”

Now, Nielson said she’s looking to moving on from the whole process.

“Throughout this whole process I felt so misunderstood,” she said. “My intention was never to hurt anybody or put anybody down. I tried so desperately to show who I was, and I couldn’t do that.”

As far as her relationship with Luyendyk, she added, “That chapter is closed!”

The Bachelor airs Mondays and the two-hour Women Tell All special airs this Sunday, both at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo Credit: Instagram / @coachkrystal