Jordan Kimball Admits He 'Got Played' by Jenna Cooper in Podcast Tell-All With Reality Steve
It's been a heck of a week in Bachelor Nation. Jordan Kimball got down on one knee and proposed to Jenna Cooper on the finale of Bachelor in Paradise on Tuesday, only to call it quits less than a day later. On Wednesday, Jordan opened up to Reality Steve about his decision to break up with Jenna and why he believes that she was unfaithful to him.
Reality Steve broke the story on Tuesday that Jenna was involved with another man.
Jordan and Jenna fell fast and hard for each other in Mexico, but according to a series of texting screenshots released by Reality Steve, she was only using him for a business opportunity. On Wednesday, our favorite male model made a statement via Instagram that he was removing himself from the relationship.
In a podcast recorded and released Wednesday evening, Jordan opened up about why he made the decision to separate from his fiancée.
Apparently there was a lot more than just those three screenshots of the text conversation between Jenna and her alleged paramour. Jordan said, "There's a couple other things people don't know about that make this very hard for me not to believe ... I feel like my Jenna sent these messages."
He explained that Jenna's initial reaction to being confronted with the texts really threw him for a loop. According to Jordan, when he asked her to explain what the texts were about, she said, "You know I say mean things sometimes, but I don't think I said this." He said that her response made him feel "even sicker" and confessed to Steve, "It's looking like I got played. Once you get played, the last thing you want is to get fooled as well. ... I have to take myself away from this until it's proven otherwise ... this makes no sense that someone could be framing her."
He also said that Jenna didn't deny the texts right off the bat and said that she might have been drunk and that she would have to go through her phone log and check to see if she wrote that. To make matters even worse, Jordan claimed that he saw the seven or eight emails between Steve and the boyfriend, and said, "Something really wasn't settling with me right ... this person has to know her in a sexual manner."
Jordan added, "If anyone picks up on things that Jenna does ... I do that. So there's no one that understands what she does daily better than I do. Because I know how she is, I pick up on things, and that's why I fell for her so hard ... and that's why it's so hard for me to look at this and believe that it's not true, because I look at it and I say, 'Dear God, this ... this hits me hard.'"
He later said, "I never saw this coming, I'll tell you that."
Jenna finally made a statement herself about the breakup on Instagram on Wednesday.
She wrote, "I want to start by saying those texts were completely fabricated, and I never sent them to anyone. I did not cheat on Jordan, and I have nothing to hide. I have been extremely open and vulnerable throughout this whole process. I was looking for love, and I found it. I was excited to share this journey with all of you. I am hurt by these fake texts, and that anyone would believe this story so quickly without proof. I have an attorney helping me investigate this hurtful and fraudulent attack on my character. We are evaluating all legal remedies available to punish those responsible."
We are going to try and be like Jordan here and not drag her through the mud, but it's pretty hard to read what she said and not be heartbroken for him that the thing she seems most upset about is her reputation, not the fact that she just lost the love of her life and future husband.
As for Jordan, he doesn't have any immediate plans to see Jenna, but he would like some closure with her eventually.
In an interview earlier on Wednesday, Jordan said that he was planning to go see Jenna to hash things out face-to-face, but it seems like he's changed his mind. He explained, "I teared up today because I care about her, and don't want to see her hurt. At the same time ... there's not a lot I can do for this -- there's not really much I can do at all."
Jordan also said that the idea of working it out with Jenna was "not the most interesting thought" to him right now. He continued, "People saw me fight for her on Paradise -- people saw me give it my all -- it's just one of those things where you keep fighting and you keep fighting and it's almost like it gets -- it gets exhausting."
"I went on a show and I fell in love," he concluded. "I feel like we went through a lot together ... I feel like we owe each other that closure ... In the most uncomfortable way, I am here for her, because she is really going through a tough time, and I have forgiven her ... it hurts me to even have to forgive her, because that means that I've accepted that this has happened."
We knew Jordan was a gem after watching him all season on Bachelor in Paradise, but his reaction to the devastating news about his now ex-fiance just confirms it. Not many people would be as kind to their partner after discovering such a horrible deceit.