Bachelor Nation’s Chris Randone Says Producers Didn’t ‘Influence’ Proposal to Krystal Nielson – Yahoo Entertainment
Chris Randone knows what it feels like to get down on one knee in front of Bachelor cameras.
The former Bachelor in Paradise star, who got engaged to fellow contestant Krystal Nielson on the season 5 finale of the ABC summer spinoff in 2018, recently penned an essay for Playboy.com, comparing his own experience to Peter Weber‘s journey as the lead of The Bachelor.
As viewers saw on this week’s two-part season finale, Weber proposed to Hannah Ann Sluss during the final rose ceremony, only to end the engagement a month later over unresolved feelings for his other finalist, Madison Prewett. When Weber and Prewett reunited during the live portion of the finale on Tuesday, they said still loved each other and would take their relationship “one step at a time” — but just two days later, on Thursday, they announced they had “mutually decided” not to pursue their relationship any further.
Randone and Nielson, meanwhile, tied the knot in 2019, documenting the nuptials on season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise. But after eight months of marriage, the couple announced on Valentine’s Day this year that they had “mutually decided to separate.”
Of deciding to proceed with a proposal on the show, Randone acknowledged “it’s a decision in which knowing if it’s right with 100 percent certainty can feel impossible.”
“But at the end of the day, it’s your decision to make,” he said. “And I believe Peter entered into his position with the mindset that any decision might be better than no decision at all. This would end up being his own demise.”
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RELATED: Chris Randone Says He Misses Estranged Wife Krystal Nielson While Watching The Bachelor Finale
According to Randone, “being in love on the show is very real, and all the concepts — relationships, commitment or even marriage — tend to overlap with each other when it comes time to make a decision.”
“The environment puts you in a position of fixating on a concept instead of really focusing on the aftermath of these big decisions,” he said. “But in the end, you have a decision, and sometimes it’s okay to say no.”
“With my own experience, I had no other love to choose from when I got down on one knee and proposed to Krystal,” he continued. “But I also had no influence on my decision-making, either. Producers left me alone for 24 straight hours after the fantasy suite. I prayed, meditated and dug into my soul to see if the feelings I felt were not only real, but that I felt strongly about a future with Krystal.”
“This is a choice where I was aware of what I wanted, and I trusted and listened to only myself,” he added. “However, I’m not sure the same can be said for Peter.”
Maarten de Boer/ABC via Getty; Eric McCandless via Getty; Maarten de Boer/ABC via Getty
Randone, 32, said he believes Weber’s choice to propose to Sluss, 23, “stemmed from a series of wrong decisions throughout the season, not to mention the fear of his own mother.” On the show, the pilot’s mom Barbara Weber — now a reality star in her own right — pushed for him to choose Sluss, openly disapproving of Prewett and predicting their relationship would fail.
Barbara was even seen tearing up and clapping during Sluss’ segment on the finale, whereas she rolled her eyes during Prewett’s. When host Chris Harrison asked Barbara for her thoughts, she didn’t hold back — and even urged her husband, in Spanish, to back her up.
“Chris, he’s going to have to fail to succeed,” she said. “All his friends, all his family, everyone that knows him knows that it’s not going to work.”
RELATED: Chris Harrison Was ‘Shocked’ and ‘Saddened’ by Peter Weber’s Mom Barb at The Bachelor Finale
Randone said Weber’s family’s treatment of Prewett during the finale “became very difficult to watch.”
“This is a family that showed nothing but bitterness, spite and zero support for their son,” he claimed. “Plus, there was disrespect for Madison, who only wanted to love Peter despite all the heartbreak and the criticism she saw on TV.”
“Family approval is big in relationships,” he continued. “I can say that family gatherings that included my relatives alongside Krystal’s played a huge role in the direction that our relationship would eventually head. And the need for a mother’s approval can cause a strain on both the son and daughter-in-law, or vice versa, if there are any negative feelings there.”
John Fleenor/ ABC (2)
Barbara has said she will “absolutely not” apologize for her actions.
“There’s nothing for me to apologize for,” she told Life & Style. “Everyone thinks it’s just me … but it wasn’t just me. It’s the whole family. It’s not that we did not like Madison. My answer to that is I don’t know Madison … I don’t know her well enough to form an opinion on such.”
And Weber’s brother Jack has also come to her defense in the comments section of his latest Instagram post.
“Did you ever once think that there is a reason why only the family who has actually met this girl in person and knows what goes on behind the cameras has a different opinion? You need to learn how reality TV works.”
“Half these people don’t even have the slightest clue as to how far Madi is from what the TV shows,” he added.
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