Bachelor star reveals what viewers didn’t see during shock elimination

Viewers were shocked when Bachelor Jimmy Nicholson decided to forgo the traditional rose ceremony in Thursday night’s episode and instead send contestant Ashleigh Freckleton home during the cocktail party.

While it appeared as though Jimmy asked the 28-year-old to leave over their misaligned futures, Ashleigh says there was more to the story than what made it to air.

Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle, Ashleigh reveals that she was “blindsided” when Jimmy chose to pull her aside to chat at the cocktail party.

The previous night she had scored one-on-one time with Jimmy because of her performance on the group date, which she believes went amazingly.

“I actually thought maybe he was taking me inside to give me a rose because last night went to well,” she admits. “I had no idea, I did not think that I was going home.”

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During their conversation, Jimmy confessed that he didn’t feel a spark between them and couldn’t see her becoming anything more than a friend.

“You’re beautiful, you’re really confident in who you are, there are so many commonalities between us,” he began to explain to her. “I want there to be that spark, it’s just a little thing that’s missing.”

Ashleigh, however, says that viewers only saw a “snippet” of what really happened.

“We did have a little bit more of a chat and I think it came across on TV that the reason might have been because our timelines were misaligned regarding children, but it didn't feel like that to me at all,” she reflects.

“I think that it really came down to the chemistry. I'm surprised that the timelines were made out to be a factor because to me that didn't really come into it.

“I mean, my timeline for children is three to five years, his was five. They’re quite similar,” she adds.

Looking back at the ‘break up’, Ashleigh says that she actually found the moment “really nice” because of Jimmy’s intentions.

“He didn't want to string me along and he didn't want to disrespect me in any way, so I'm grateful to him for ending things the way that he did.

“Jimmy just gave me the uncomfortable raw truth and it’s tough to hear, but at least it puts the nail in the coffin and you don’t have to wonder because it gives you that closure.”

While she hasn’t spoken with Jimmy since their time on the reality show, Ashleigh says that she’d love to in the future.

“I think it would be really nice to reconnect with him because I do think we have a really nice friendship.”

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