‘The Bachelor’: Colton Underwood Comes Face-to-Face With Tayshia Adams After Leaving Her for Cassie Randolph

Colton Underwood may have blindsided Tayshia Adams with a break up as he quit to pursue Cassie Randolph, but The Bachelor contestant had nothing but kind words during their first meeting after.

In Monday’s part one of the season finale, Colton called off his relationship with Tayshia and Hannah Godwin prior to the final rose ceremony so he could chase Cassie, who dumped him during last week’s dramatic episode, prompting Bachelor Nation’s infamous fence jump.

While Colton’s future with Cassie is still up in the air, Tayshia and the former NFL player came face-to-face during the live segment of the finale for the first time.

“It’s difficult,” Tayshia told host Chris Harrison after watching their split back on TV. “There’s a lot of emotions there, and it was a surprise, and I wasn’t necessarily ready for my journey to end right then and there.”

Hearing from Colton that he was in love with Cassie “hurt,” Tayshia admitted. “I don’t think anybody really wants to hear that, especially when I feel like I have really laid it all out there.”

Regardless, she could recognize how “hard” it was for him to tell her his feelings, and “at that moment, just had to remove [herself] from that situation and just be there for him.”

When the two were finally sitting just inches from one another for the first time, Tayshia said she was “nervous” to see her ex for the first time since their split, which Colton echoed, calling watching their breakup a “weird time warp” that was “hard” for him as well.

“I thought that we had a lot of amazing moments together, and we really push ourselves out of our comfort zone, and I thought we really had something special,” Tayshia then told Colton. “What was missing?”

“Coming into this, I knew later on and down the road it was going to be very difficult,” he responded. “And I tried to stay as open and honest and true to my feelings and express them when I felt them, and if I was doing that and being honest, it was that moment where I gave all of myself to Cassie that I have so much respect for you, knowing what you’ve been through in previous relationships to continue to be half in.”

Colton continued, “I tried to remain as open as I could in other relationships as long as I could, and I wouldn’t say it has anything to do with our relationship, but in another one where my heart was closed off, because it was completely hers.”

In the end, Tayshia said there were no hard feelings between the two.

“I just wish the best for you, and I will not take anything that I learned or that we shared for granted, and I cherish the memories we made. I’m so proud of the woman I’ve become because of this journey, and because of you, honestly.”

The Bachelor season finale continues Tuesday, March 12 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo credit: ABC/Eric McCandless