The Bachelorette star Jenn Tran has admitted she’s in a stage of “heavy grieving” after her brutal breakup with Devin Strader but still wishes him well.
After a heart-wrenching and emotional The Bachelorette finale, Jenn took to Instagram to reflect back on her journey to find love and devastating split from her now ex-fiance Devin.
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“Wow I don’t even know where to start! I came into this journey searching for my one true love and [I’m] unexpectedly finding infinite love from bachelor nation and beyond,” Jenn began in her caption.
Alongside photos of Jenn and Devin hugging after the Final Rose Ceremony in Hawaii and then arguing months later on The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose, Jenn continued, “It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions these past couple of months. I truly couldn’t have done it without you all.”
Jenn proceeded to reach out to people who can relate to her highs and lows of her romance with Devin, which ended in August when Devin had broken up with The Bachelorette star in an alleged 15-minute phone call.
“For everyone who saw themselves in me, whether it was past you or present you or future you… We are all trying our best to be the best version of ourselves,” Jenn wrote.
“We are not defined by one moment, one circumstance, one experience, one mistake or one heartbreak. We are defined by how we actively choose to grow from it.”
Jenn then thanked The Bachelorette fans for opening their hearts to her story.
“Being the first Asian American Bachelorette has been a healing experience for me and I couldn’t be happier to watch my community come alive,” she noted.
“No matter where you are in your search for your identity, please remember you are worthy and you are exactly who you need to be.”
Jenn acknowledged that although her love story “didn’t end the way” she had hoped, she’s doing okay.
“What you guys have seen is a snippet of our love story and two real people navigating a complicated situation,” Jenn explained of Devin, whom she alleged had fallen out of love with her and slowly ghosted her after filming The Bachelorette’s Season 21 finale.
“My heart is heavy grieving but I have to make room for forgiveness and keep the main thing the main thing which is ultimately my heart.”
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Jenn said that emotions were “high” on the stage but now she’s choosing to take the high road. (Jenn previously joked about how she hates men).
“I will always have love for the person I fell in love with and I am choosing to wish him the best in his journey of life and will always root for him,” Jenn claimed.
“I want to acknowledge the heartbreak felt from around the world as it’s such a universal experience. To all the lover girls and boys out there, our greatest gift in life is how big our hearts are. It is easier to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.”
Jenn went on to point out that she’s “still healing” from Devin’s brutal dumping.
“It’s been difficult processing the past few months and it will continue to be difficult for me to fully understand my own heart at this moment,” Jenn admitted.
“However, what I do know is that I am worthy of an unconditional and unwavering love whenever that love may come. Xoxo,” she concluded.
Jenn received a lot of support in the comments as she moves on from The Bachelorette and competes on Dancing with the Stars’ upcoming 33rd season premiering Tuesday, September 17 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
Joey Graziadei, who had broken up with Jenn before hometown dates on The Bachelor’s 28th season, commented, “Well said! Plenty of people here to support you. Now let’s hit the dance floor.”
The Bachelorette host Jesse Palmer wrote, “You showed the world what a STRONG and POWERFUL woman looks like. Never afraid to speak your mind. Never afraid to go for what you want. Good things happen to good people! I can’t wait to see what’s next for you!!!”
Charity Lawson exclaimed, “Sending you all the love and healing energy!!!”
And Kaity Biggar commented, “So proud of you !! On to bigger and better things !!”
On The Bachelorette’s Season 21 finale that aired on September 3, Jenn appeared emotionally distraught when she announced her relationship with Devin was over.
Although Jenn was sobbing and struggled to compose herself, ABC decided to air the Final Rose Ceremony in Hawaii, which had taped in May and featured Jenn flipping the script by proposing marriage to Devin and presenting him with a ring.
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ABC faced backlash for tormenting Jenn and being cruel to The Bachelorette star, but Jenn insisted to Glamour magazine that she actually wanted the marriage proposal to air so Devin could see how he felt about her and what he had promised her in that moment.
“I did know that was going to happen. They walked me through the game plan and everything,” Jenn revealed.
“I guess I just didn’t know how heavy I would be feeling in the moment, just seeing [Devin] again and having that conversation that we had. It was a very hard thing to do to watch it back with him, but I also knew that it needed to be done.”
Throughout the show, Devin seemed head over heels in love with Jenn. He made bold love proclamations to Jenn and nearly quit The Bachelorette out of panic when he worried Jenn didn’t reciprocate his feelings.
Jenn also apparently wasn’t surprised by how cold Devin seemed to be as she cried and poured her heart out in front of him.
At times, Devin laughed things off, such as when Jenn called him out for following fellow The Bachelor 28 alum Maria Georgas on Instagram after their breakup and going clubbing with Jeremy Simon instead of working on himself and being “so sad.”
According to Jenn, after she and Devin got engaged in Hawaii, she was never his main priority.
Jenn claimed that Devin began “pulling away” — with calls and texts diminishing — until he finally dumped her. Jenn questioned how Devin could go from not being able to live without her to treating her like she’s “nothing.”
Jenn told Jesse on After the Final Rose, “He said something felt off from the second he proposed and that he regretted getting engaged… He denied ever being in love.”
When asked what changed, Jenn said on Good Morning America that she had no idea what caused Devin’s sudden change of heart about their relationship.
“I was so happy and I was so ready to start our life together,” Jenn shared.
“But I noticed his energy had shifted and his priorities shifted. He wasn’t the same person he was on the show, off of the show.”
Jenn said “it was pretty immediate” after filming The Bachelorette finale in May when she “started noticing” a change in Devin’s attitude and demeanor towards her.
“I said, ‘Maybe it’s just the show. It’s been a lot coming off the show,’ so I gave grace with that. And I think over time, I realized his heart just wasn’t in it anymore,” Jenn recalled.
Devin didn’t explain why exactly he had fallen out of love with Jenn and broken up with her, except for saying that he “fell short” of her expectations for him in the real world.
“I found myself not being able to live up to the things that you need and deserve,” Devin acknowledged.
Devin said he watched Jenn grow leaps and bounds on the show, only to contribute to her “recession,” which really hurt him at the end of the day. Devin suggested that Jenn was willing to compromise her standards to make him happy and he didn’t want her to make those sacrifices for him.
“You have done nothing wrong,” Devin said.
Devin admitted he had “failed” Jenn, who insisted she had “fought” so hard to save their relationship.
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About The Author:
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.