Bachelor Nation didn’t hold back when Kendall Long returned to talk to ex Joe Amabile moments before he proposed to Serena Pitt during the season 7 finale of Bachelor in Paradise, but according to Bachelor alum Jacqueline Trumbull, there’s more to the story.
“I talked to her when she came back, but before it aired, so I was very biased watching it. I knew, for instance, that she had not gone on to date Joe,” Jacqueline, 30, said on the Wednesday, November 3, episode of Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast. “It was much more about, you know, this place was very special to both of them. And I think watching her ex go back in and use that same place to create new meaning was just something she wanted to do kind of side by side, like, to kind of reclaim it together instead of one of them going and kind of sullying the memory of that. I was upset to see the edit so clearly make it look like she was trying to get him back.”
Kendall, 30, and Joe, 35, dated for nearly two years after meeting during season 5 of BiP in 2018. After calling it quits in early 2020, they both returned for the 2021 season of the beach spinoff and he quickly connected with Serena, 24, and proposed during the October finale.
“I was just really upset by the people dragging her for coming on the proposal day because she didn’t know he was getting engaged that day,” Jacqueline, who met Kendall on season 22 of The Bachelor, told Us. “I know what’s produced and I know the real reasons for things and I just think she’s one of the most genuine people ever. She hasn’t lost her weird, quirky side, you know, she uses her Instagram to tell, like, weird animal sex facts, and get people excited about nature and [her] coffee stain paintings.”
The “A Little Help For Our Friends” podcast host added, “There’s a sense that the show — she got two great edits, the first time and the second time — it’s always a risk to go back and it’s just painful watching. I love these producers and I have a love for the show and it’s hard to watch them, like, take down someone I love in a way and so I’m a bit angry about that.”
Kendall has stayed fairly mum amid the aftermath of BiP, but Joe told Us last month that he wishes her the best.
“I don’t have any resentment — it was a little confusing,” the Chicago native told Us on October 6. “The timing, I would say, wasn’t the best. I was just really focused on Serena and getting to that moment. I had a ring in my back pocket. So it was more like, ‘OK, I get that you’re here, you know, I wish you the best, but it’s not the time. Now is not the time.’ But I hope she’s happy.”
Serena added, “I definitely feel the same way as Joe. … I hope she’s happy. I wish her the best. And, you know, we’re just happy to focus on our relationship now and kind of keep those special moments between us and keep them private and special in their own way.”
