Entertainment

This Is The Exact Moment Eric Knew Bryan Would Win 'The Bachelorette'

by Taylor Ferber
ABC/Paul Hebert

The internet is still imploding over Bryan Abasolo's win on The Bachelorette Monday night. However, contestant Eric Bigger wasn't nearly as shocked as Twitter was about the surprising victory. In a new interview with Us Weekly, Eric recalled the exact moment he knew Rachel Lindsay would pick Bryan as her fiancé. "No, I wasn't surprised. I felt it two weeks prior," the second runner up said. Believe it or not, the giveaway was a watch.

"Bryan, he got the watch," Eric said, referring to the Breitling present Rachel gave Bryan during their solo date in Switzerland. And Eric admitted he was "pissed" when it happened. "If it was Adam or Matt, I would've been like, 'OK, cool.' But it was Bryan," he continued. And he wasn't upset for the same reason that fans (who largely believe Peter Kraus is everything) are. He was annoyed because Bryan's victory was one that seemed to him to be percolating for some time, and the watch just confirmed it.

"He had the most momentum. He got the first rose. The biggest group date, he got the rose," Eric explained. According to him, Bryan's win was a no-brainer to most people on the show, and fellow contestants knew he'd would be a top pick within the first few weeks of shooting. But the internet clearly wasn't on the same page.

ABC/Paul Hebert

Although viewers are devastated over a heartbroken Peter, maybe the watch was the nail on the coffin for #TeamPeter fans. When Rachel took her final choices to Sweden, she got a lot of attention for upping the luxurious standards of the show by driving around Geneva in a Bentley with Bryan before having him try on Breitling watches and ultimately giving him one (which costed at least a few thousand dollars). Maybe the watch was Rachel's version of a Neil Lane rock.

Now, Twitter is demanding a recount from Monday night's result, arguing that Rachel picked a ring and engagement over true love with Peter (who wasn't ready to propose). But Eric is at peace with the situation: "Me and Bryan had a great relationship and we still do, so it wasn't like, 'I'm mad at you,' it was like, 'I get it.'" Although he's not nearly as mad as Twitter, there will always be that watch. "Don’t let me see that! I’m emotional and vulnerable right now," he continued.

Meanwhile, there's no bad blood between him and his TV ex, and, though he's open-minded about dating again, he's just focusing on his life right now. Which is just as well. There are plenty of Twitter fans who would happily hand him their rose right about now.