Jacob Rapini isn’t afraid to admit that he has some regrets about his time on Bachelor in Paradise, telling Us Weekly that he shouldn’t have ended things with Jill Chin during the Tuesday, October 25, episode of the ABC series.
“I truly do wish I had,” the reality star said on Us Weekly’s “Here For the Right Reasons” podcast when asked if he wishes he gave his relationship with Jill more time. “Obviously, at that point, Kate [Gallivan] and I were no longer, and I was perfectly fine with that. I wish I had tried to pursue us as just a couple. Getting engaged at the end, probably not, but us as an actual relationship where we could be, you know, just talking and having fun with each other like we were before. I kind of do wish that [we] continued things. What I did there was I said, ‘OK, look, I don’t want to lead you on anymore. I want you to see if you can find your soulmate here.’ I didn’t want her to leave right away. I didn’t think she would leave right away. But after what happened with her and Romeo and then having a relationship with her and I, Jill just said, ‘You know what? Enough is enough. I gotta go.’ I still wish I had just said, ‘Let’s just see what you and I have.’
Jacob Rapini and Jill Chin ABC/Craig Sjodin (2)
Fans watched Jill leave, breaking down in the van and shading Jacob as a Lyft driver who “sold his couch for cash.”
“Oh, my God,” Jacob said with a laugh when Us told him about the remark.
“She’s an emotional being and to be honest, Jill and I still have a great relationship to this day. We still talk a lot. That’s just who she is. … Just joking around. Jill is an amazing person. She really is a sweet individual. I wish she wasn’t as emotional over me in that particular case, just because I am a fun, goofy person and just like to have some fun. Ultimately, I am there for a proposal. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. But again, it is sad to see her leave like that.”
Jill and Kate aren’t the only women Jacob explored connections with. During the early episodes, Lace Morris, Kira Mengistu and Hailey Malles were competing for his rose, with Jacob opting to give it to the Bachelor 20 alum — a move he might change if he could.
Jacob Rapini and Jill Chin ABC/Craig Sjodin
“I did what I could to see who I meshed with the most. You know, like, you’re gonna go into this world and say, ‘Well, who do I like the most?’ Well, I gotta talk to you first. I gotta get to know you mentally, physically, emotionally. I had a really great relationship with those three people,” he said. “If I look back on it and say, ‘Who would I have given my rose to this time?’ Would I have given it to Lace again? I don’t know. I don’t think so. But again, nothing against Lace. She’s an amazing person.”
Bachelor in Paradise airs on ABC Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. For more from Jacob, listen to Us Weekly’s “Here For the Right Reasons” podcast.
