Last night (Nov. 25) The Bachelorette aired its grand finale, and in the moment everyone had been waiting for, Brooke chose the one she felt she shared a deep connection with.
The competition was tough. Jamie-Lee and Darvid were the last two remaining contestants, and the 26-year-old had a strong connection with both of them.
Unfortunately, while one finds happiness, the other deals with heartbreak, and it was Jamie-Lee who had to deal with being let down. But despite it all, she remained ever-so gracious, and simply told Brooke, “It’s okay, I really am happy for you.”
With the finale being filmed months ago, Jamie-Lee was in good spirits when she chatted to POPSUGAR Australia about her time on the show. Read on to see what she had to say.
POPSUGAR Australia: I know the final was filmed a while ago, but how are you doing after Brooke turned you down?
Jamie-Lee Dayz: I’m doing really well. It was honestly kind of cathartic to watch last night’s episode and see how strong the connection was between her and Darvid. It kind of made everything really understandable. You can see from a mile away how strong their connection was, and throughout all of this I wanted Brooke to be happy and I think it’s so evident that she is with Darvid. So she made the right decision and things happen for a reason, so I truly believe that things happened as they should.
PS: Were you expecting Brooke’s decision?
JLD: I went into it not knowing what to expect! I remember specifically driving up to that moment and just having no idea about which way it would go. The minute I saw her, the minute I stepped out of the car, I kind of knew. It was written all over her face. It was okay, it is what it is. It wasn’t me but I wanted her to find love and that’s what we were there for. And if it wasn’t with me, how could I be angry at that? It is what it is and I’m happy that she’s happy.
PS: You should be commended for how gracefully you reacted when Brooke told you the bad news. What was going through your head at that moment?
JLD: To be honest, when I was driving up there, I had no idea what to expect. Then someone said to me, “Do you know what you’re going to say if it is you? And do you know what you’re going to say if it isn’t you?” And it was kind of like, “Oh! No, I haven’t thought this far!” I’m just here wearing my heart on my sleeve and hoping for the best. I haven’t thought about the outcome and what I need to say. I think that was really evident in my reaction and I’m kind of glad that I didn’t know what to expect. Because you saw my emotion, you saw how rawly I was being myself. And that was really important for me to experience that and those emotions.
PS: Are you still in touch with Brooke?
JLD: Yeah we’ve spoken a little bit, not much, but every now and then she’ll shoot me a message and say that she wishes me the best and we’re on good terms. I don’t think we’re going to be hanging out anytime soon but we do have that really respectful friendship, and that hasn’t changed from the day that we met, so I’m really thankful for that. And I think it speaks so much to the type of person she is.
PS: Do you have any regrets about your time on the show?
JLD: No, not at all. I think I was 100% myself and I’m so proud of that. It’s not easy in that setting to be so rawly yourself and know that you’re going to be judged on it. It is difficult, but it was something I consciously tried to be aware of, that I just needed to be true to myself. I’m so proud of myself.
PS: So, tell us, what’s next for you? Are you dating?
JLD: No, I’m not dating! I’m taking each day as it comes. I don’t know what’s next for me, I’m excited to hopefully start meeting people now that all of this is over. But we’ll see, I really don’t know! Look, if you know anyone, tell them to slide into my DMs, okay?
