Rachel's one-time love interest doesn't have a lot of confidence in her new romance.
Sean McLaughlin doesn't think Rachel Recchia found love with Brayden Bowers on the beach. ET spoke to Sean about his Bachelor in Paradise elimination on Thursday night's episode, and he revealed why he doesn't think his one-time love interest wound up with the guy that sabotaged his chances with the former Bachelorette.
"If they're end game that's gonna be a hell of a pairing, but I think I think Brayden's just gonna have some fun. I think Rachel always kind of has fun. It's nice to see that side of her."
Sean's romance with Rachel was spoiled after he had a conversation with Jess. Things got worse for him when Brayden told Rachel that Sean hadn't explored other options because he knew that Rachel was so into him. That, Sean told ET, is simply not true.
"I never made it seem like Rachel is more into me. So hearing Brayden tell Rachel that was a little frustrating. The whole thing was pretty confusing because I didn't know Rachel was mad at me for what Brayden had told her. I thought she was mad at me for talking to Jess," Sean explained, before insisting he "never said" that Rachel was more into him than he was into her.
"Brayden just said that I was saying it, which was never the case," he said. "I was struggling... It definitely sucked. I don't know why Brayden did that. I think he might have like misspoke and then just all hell broke loose pretty much."
As all of that was going down, the Paradise Truth Box made its arrival, with at least two entries that insisted Brayden and Rachel should make out.
"I think going through it there were more than two," Sean recalled with a laugh. "I think Brayden had fun when just stuffing the box. Honestly, I'm tipping the cap to him. It's a pretty good move."
While that seemed to spell disaster for Sean's chances at a rose, much to his dismay.
"I just felt betrayed by Brayden, so that was really difficult. But it was more so like, once you're in this, you don't want to leave, especially leaving single before the end. It just wasn't something that I wanted to do, so I was bummed," he said. "It was disappointing that things ended with Rachel the way they did... [Now] we're all friends, which is great. But yeah, it was just a very disappointing and kind of crappy night."
He briefly had a bit of hope when Sam Picco showed up on the beach, but ultimately she wasn't the girl for him.
"Sam definitely got a chance to bring a glimmer of hope into that beach for the guys that didn't have a rose," Sean said. "... [But] I'm very certain Sam wasn't my person."
Since leaving the beach, Sean has been focusing more on work than on dating, though he's "open to seeing what's out there." Likewise, if Bachelor Nation should come calling again, Sean is ready to pick up the phone.
"I look back on both of my times on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise with great, positive thoughts. I've always never understood when contestants come off the show and they kind of trash it a little bit, because I truly had the best relationship with the guys from Charity's season," he said. "I'm friends with everyone from Paradise. I met some of the coolest people, had some of the coolest experiences. I'd definitely be open to doing it again if I was single and the time came around. You never know what the future holds."
Bachelor in Paradise airs Thursdays on ABC. Keep up with all the drama on the beach with ET's coverage of the show.
RELATED CONTENT:
