Opening up. 

Bachelor Nation got to know Guy Gansert as he searched for love with Joan Vassos on the very first season of “The Golden Bachelorette.” 

Guy was one of Joan’s final two men, but he was sent home in a heartbreaking goodbye during their last few days in Tahiti.

Now, Guy is stopping by the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast to share more about his “Golden Bachelorette” experience, where he stands with Joan now, and whether he’s found closure since their breakup. 

Podcast hosts Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt asked Guy if he could walk them through the breakup with Joan and what he was thinking during their conversation. 

Guy opened up and shared, “Unexpectedly, the knock comes on the door and I open it and there she is. Well, I should’ve been thinking, ‘Oh, this is not good,’ but I was just so happy to see her and I was excited. And then we’re talking, I show her around, we sit down, and we start to talk. I was actually hoping that she was about to tell me, ‘You know what, I’ve thought about this and I think you’re my guy and I’m gonna let the other guys go.’ That’s what I was thinking for two-thirds of it.”

Guy then explained why he was so emotional during their goodbye: He was convinced he was going to propose, but he knew he didn’t want Joan to feel bad for her decision.

“She felt awful, and never do I want Joan to feel bad because I love Joan,” he expressed. “I absolutely love her. I know now after months, I will always love Joan. I just can’t be in love with her. And so I didn’t want her to feel bad… She has a heart of gold. She is a wonderful woman. I can’t think or say anything negative about her and I say that with sincerity. And so I said to her, ‘Joan, please don’t worry about me. Don’t worry about me, I am going to be okay.’” 

Joe and Serena then asked if seeing Joan’s relationship with Chock brought any sense of closure or clarity, to which Guy answered that it did to an extent.

“It made me understand what his M.O. was, and made me question myself, should I have been a little more aggressive?” Guy said. “But I can only say and do what was true to my heart. I was not going to say things prematurely… I’ve gotta be true to my heart. If not, I am doing her a disservice. That’s disrespectful to her.”

Guy then shared where he and Joan stand now and how it felt seeing her again during “After the Final Rose.” 

He said, “Even though I didn’t ‘win,’ I won… And what I mean by that is, she allowed me to have that transformational journey. One of those that… allowed me to realize that I can truly love again. I can have that passionate love again… I was mentally prepared [to see Joan again] because I wanted to see her, I was happy to see her. She did say some things that, even on TV, made me question her decision. But she picked Chock. She’s gotta go with her heart… I can’t make that decision for her. He’s a great guy. I really like Chock.” 

Serena then asked the Bachelor Nation star if he would ever go on the show again, and Guy replied, “Oh, absolutely, in a heartbeat. Not a question.” 

Listen to the full interview in the “Bachelor Happy Hour” episode below!