Bachelorette star reveals secret behind Holly’s single date: ‘It sucked’

Only three weeks into the groundbreaking new season of The Bachelorette and there are already a number of clear frontrunners in the race to win Brooke Blurton’s heart.

While Darvid, Holly, Konrad and Luca have each formed strong connections with Brooke on romantic single dates, recently eliminated contestant Carissa Croft says that things almost occurred very differently early on in the competition.

Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle about her time on the show, the 30-year-old psychologist reveals that an unfortunate incident actually prevented her from getting extra time with the Bachelorette.

“I was offered a single date early on but then I injured myself, so that made things a bit harder as well because I couldn't be a part of those dates which were more active,” she says.

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Carissa explains that Brooke invited her for the salsa dancing date in episode three, which was eventually given to dance teacher Holly Langford, but she had to turn in down because of her injury.

“Literally the day before, I slipped over on the tennis court barefoot,” she details. “And I couldn’t put weight on it and obviously you had to wear heels and dance.

“In saying that, I don't wanna take anything away from Holly. Holly and Brooke did definitely have a connection, as we could see when they were dancing on the photoshoot date.

“Obviously it still sucked, but I was happy for Holly. She is such a lovely, genuine person and I was happy that she did get that time with Brooke.”

‘It is what it is’

Despite being disappointed that she couldn’t attend the single date, Carissa is confident that everything worked out how it was meant to.

“I think if you have a connection with someone, it's going to work no matter what. I'm a big believer in love and whatever’s meant to be will be, so I was okay with it,” she says.

“There was no ‘because I missed it I get something else’. It just is what it is and things continued.”

Carissa ended up receiving extended time with Brooke after making a strong impression on the go-karting group date in episode four, however, she felt like it was already too late for their relationship to flourish.

“By the time that I did get the opportunity to spend time with Brooke, what had happened was I had created strong friendships in the house and some of those friends already had feelings for Brooke and they already had formed those romantic connections,” she says.

“So by that time, it felt like it just didn't feel right for me to then pursue her. It almost felt like I'd be betraying others, and I found myself in a moral dilemma where I didn’t feel right pursuing her.”

‘I couldn’t give Brooke what she deserved’

Speaking about her decision to leave the mansion during Wednesday night’s episode, a moment that shocked both viewers and Brooke, Carissa says that she wanted to create a space for Brooke to find the right person for her.

“If I couldn’t give Brooke what she deserved then I felt like the right thing for me to do was to step back and let the people be there who really felt like they could give it a shot with her,” she explains.

“I’m really proud of myself for having the courage to talk to Brooke and to be open and honest with her. It definitely wasn't an easy conversation but I think I did what was right.”

While she admits not everything that occurred on the show was portrayed accurately on-screen - “It looked like I was insecure or jealous when the intruders came when that wasn't the case at all” - she is “super grateful” to have been a part of such a history-making season.

“The experience overall was great, I met some incredible people and learned a lot about myself as well when it comes to love,” she reflects.

“Being in the actual situation is very different to anything else, but I think overall it was a positive experience.”

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