Warning: This post contains spoilers from Tuesday’s finale ofThe Bachelorette.

TheDancing with the Starsseason 31 contestantadds that the distance forced her and Erich to be open about their feelings early on. “If there was an inkling of a worry or of a concern, you have to bring it up sooner rather than later for yourself, because your time is so limited together,” she says. “You would address some things in person and then be together again. You get into more of a rhythm.”
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“That was and still is a really hard time for Erich, and I just wanted to be as supportive as I could for him and his family,” the ICU nurse says. “It was hard to not be there in person and have to support from afar, for sure. It’s strengthened our communication and hopefully we’ll have a whole new part of our relationship to explore.”
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They did, and Erich apologized on Instagram for his “offensive and damaging behavior.”
“I was expecting the text messages,” she reveals. “He was scared they were going to leak and I’m like, ‘You have to prepare yourself now and tell me the truth.’ And he did, so there’s not really anything I can say or do.”
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Dealing with those situations back-to-back while their season aired its final episodes left the duo in rebuilding mode.
“Our commitment to each other is there,” she says. “Now it’s just doing the hard work, which is getting to know each other, more communication, really strengthening those building blocks before we get to the altar.”
source: people.com