“Love Is Blind”'s Leo Defends His 'Fiery' Meltdown About Hannah in the Pods: 'I Definitely Lost My Cool' (Exclusive)

"I could have handled it with maybe a bit more grace... I got really hurt [and] acted in a way that wasn't my best self," Leo Braudy tells PEOPLE of his reaction to Hannah Jiles breaking up with him

Warning: this story contains spoilers from episodes 1-6 of Love Is Blind season 7.

Love Is Blind's Leo Braudy has some regrets about his behavior in the pods.

In the first batch of episodes from season 7, Leo flipped out on Hannah Jiles after she ended things with him in the pods, and opted to pursue her connection with Nick Dorka instead.

Leo's response to the news? An emotional and rageful rant, in which he berated Hannah for her decision, claiming that she was only choosing Nick because he was "the first person to say 'I love you'" and that she was who he wanted to "fight for." The conversation ended with Hannah in tears, and after some space from each other, Leo determined Brittany Wisniewski was the better match for him.

Related: Love Is Blind's Leo Can't Stop Reminding Us He's a Rich Art Dealer. Literally What Does That Mean? (Exclusive)

Looking back on his reaction to Hannah's breakup, Leo, 30, admits he should've handled things differently.

"I definitely lost my cool," he tells PEOPLE. "I wish that I could have handled it with maybe a bit more grace."

"At the same time, I was really vulnerable, and it's not something that I'm used to doing," he continues. "I got really hurt [and] I acted in a way that wasn't my best self. So while I regret how fiery I might have gotten, I don't know if I could have done anything any different because I was just so open."

"And sometimes when you're open and you get hurt, you act in ways that you wouldn't act if you were a little more guarded off," he adds.

Hannah, 27, also spoke to PEOPLE about the emotional moment, saying she was caught off guard by how Leo reacted to her calling things off.

"It was just a very confusing situation because I knew he was dating Brittany and I decided to choose Nick. So I went in there and I was like, 'Alright, I'm going to break up with him. If you say that you have this great connection with Brittany, it shouldn't be a problem,'" she recalls. "So I think I was shocked. I was just like, whoa. I just wasn't expecting that."

"I don't really know exactly if it was a switch-up or not, but I just wasn't expecting that conversation we had," she continues. "I think how someone handles difficult rejection, it really shows a lot about them. And so maybe he just didn't handle rejection that well."

Related: Love Is Blind's Hannah Reveals How She Really Felt About Leo Flaunting His Art Dealer Job — and Their Big Fight (Exclusive)

Asked whether he thinks he would've proposed to Hannah had she not ended things first, Leo insists: "Brittany was my top choice. I still think I would've proposed to Brittany."

"It's okay. I got broken up with [by Hannah]. There's no shame in that. It happened," he says. "But I still really would've gone for Brittany. That's what I was planning on going for before the conversation with Hannah."

"It doesn't mean that I didn't really like Hannah. And I was super hurt and my ego was hurt," he continues. "I'm a logical guy. I want to have all the information to make a decision, which as I said, it's something I've kind of learned maybe has some cons, but I really wanted the most time with whoever I was with because this is the most important decision I may make in my life."

"And so I felt angry that I wanted more time to make my decision, and that's a me thing," he adds. "But all that being said, Brittany was for sure my number one and who I would've proposed to."

Hannah also agrees that Nick was always her top choice and confirms that things wouldn't have changed if Leo reacted differently.

"I think if he would've handled it better, yes, maybe down the road, we would've been fine," she says. "But Nick was who I wanted and no matter if he was being aggressive or he was being cordial, it still would've been Nick."

Related: Love Is Blind's Leo and Brittany Reveal What Really Happened After Cameras Stopped Rolling (Exclusive)

After Leo and Hannah went their separate ways in the pods, she got engaged to Nick and they jetted off to Mexico for the couples' getaway. As of episode 6, the two remain together, but both agreed they have some "concerns" they want to "address" before heading to the altar, including Nick's disrespectful actions in the duck incident and Hannah's bullet point list of red flags.

Leo and Brittany also got engaged in the pods but after an "awkward" reveal, it was confirmed that the two later called things off.

In a message on the screen during episode 5, it was revealed that Leo and Brittany were "not one of the six couples chosen by producers to continue their journey in Mexico. They took their own trip to Miami and broke off their engagement weeks later."

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Episodes 1-6 of Love Is Blind season 7 are now streaming on Netflix, and episodes 7-9 will drop Wednesday, Oct. 9.

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