What BECCA KUFRIN really thinks about her split from Bachelor ARIE LUYENDYK JR.
In the wake of a devastating split from Arie Luyendyk Jr., Becca Kufrin opens up
It was the most shocking ending in the history of The Bachelor. Months after getting down on one knee and proposing to final rose winner Becca Kufrin, Arie Luyendyk Jr. changed his mind, dumped Becca and got back together with runner-up Lauren Burnham.
While the dramatic twist and its aftermath were captured on camera, Becca hasn’t opened up — until now. She’s finally telling friends her side of the story. And though she’s trying her best to put on a brave face and move on, the 27-year- old publicist is hurt and humiliated. “Imagine being the happiest you’ve ever been, and then that feeling going away in a day — without any notice or sign,” an insider close to Becca exclusively tells Life & Style. “That’s how Becca feels. She’s devastated.”
WARNING SIGNS
Becca was completely blindsided by the January breakup, confirms her close friend and fellow contestant Caroline Lunny. To Becca, the engagement to Arie “was real,” Caroline tells Life & Style. “There are videos of them putting up a Christmas tree together — you know what I mean?” Meeting up with her fiancé every other weekend in an LA safe house after the November proposal, Becca enjoyed getting to know him away from the spotlight. “They made pizzas together,” Caroline says. “They were goofy — just like a normal couple.”
Looking back, though, Caroline says there were signs Arie, 36, had other priorities. “I think he was in love with the attention [of being the Bachelor],” she explains. “Like, when it was all over, he said something to Becca like, ‘Oh, everyone cared and
now no one cares.’ ” Arie also expressed concern for Lauren, telling Becca he was worried he hadn’t ended things with her the way he should have. “Being confident in their relationship, she said, ‘ Hey, if you need to talk things out, go talk about it,’” Caroline says. “He betrayed that trust.”
He sure did. Even worse, Caroline says Arie told other people he planned to leave Becca for Lauren, 25, before telling his fiancée! “My girlfriend is dating a guy who used to be the Bachelor in Canada, and she was the one who told me about it,” says Caroline. “Arie had been running his mouth about this whole situation so much, the Bachelor in Canada had found out!” Caroline promptly contacted Becca to let her know how sorry she was. “She was confused,” she recalls.
HAPPILY EVER AFTER?
Soon enough, Arie officially ended things, Bachelor camera crew in tow. Did Becca hold on to the sparkler Arie proposed with? “She didn’t want to keep that,” says Caroline. Still, Becca — who has no ill will toward Lauren, the insider says — is determined to let go of her anger with Arie, put the pain behind her and find a man who truly deserves her. She was even open to being the Bachelorette in the next season or down the road, the insider says. “She just wants to settle down and get married and have a family,” the insider notes. “Producers were shocked by what Arie did to her. They’re on her side and hope she gets the happy ending she deserves.”