This Texan gentleman is still in love. The Bachelorette’s Luke Pell continues to have feelings for leading lady JoJo Fletcher, despite getting sent home from the show months ago.
The war veteran, 31, confessed his true feelings after filming the “Men Tell All” special, which airs on ABC Tuesday, July 26.
“When you saw her, did you feel like you still had love for her?” ABC News’ Abbie Boudreau recently asked him.
“Yeah, absolutely. I still do love her,” he replied. “[She’ll] always have a piece of my heart.”
![Luke Pell and JoJo Fletcher](/wp-content/uploads/143386_3989_luke-pell-jojo-fletcher-zoom-18a5e5c5-51bf-4fd8-8b9a-20e566a0e798.jpg?w=1000&quality=40&strip=all)
Pell’s departure was one of the most emotional moments this season. Fletcher, 25, sent him home in the Monday, July 25, episode just moments after he pulled her to the side to reveal that he was in love with her.
![Luke Pell and JoJo Fletcher](/wp-content/uploads/142914_7403_luke-pell-jojo-fletcher-zoom-d2d3ed64-8623-436a-b077-34b4118c652a.jpg?w=1000&quality=40&strip=all)
“That was the not the best moment to say that, and I knew that. And I knew by the look in her eyes [that something was off]. That was the first time she looked at me that way versus any other day. It was something that I should’ve been more direct about, and I didn’t embrace how quickly the process happens,” Pell recalled to ABC.
“This is my first time through that [process], so I don’t know when you say things. It makes it tough and kind of mind-boggling and you get wrapped up in the moment: What do you say? What do you not say? When do you say this or that?” he continued. “We had our first date and I could’ve said it, but I was like, ‘You can’t say that on the first date!’ Hindsight’s 20/20.”
Pell wasn’t the only one who left heartbroken. Contestant Chase McNary was sent packing soon after during his fantasy suite date, leaving Jordan Rodgers and Robby Hayes as the last men standing.
“Are you really happy? Did you find love?” Boudreau asked Fletcher after the “Men Tell All” episode. Fletcher quipped: “My lips are kind of sealed right now, but I can tell you that I am really happy. I’m really happy.”
The Bachelorette’s “Men Tell All” special airs on Tuesday, July 26, on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.