Eliminated 'Bachelorette' Contestant West Thinks J.P. is the Best Fit for Ashley

By
ABC

Latest eliminated "Bachelorette" contestant West Lee is talking about his experience on the ABC show's seventh season, and he reveals that he feels J.P., the 34-year-old construction manager from New York, is the best match for bachelorette Ashley Hebert.

"I think based on my gut, just from sitting here and interacting with people, I really thought that J.P. was going to be the one that she'd pick, just because they had this natural chemistry together," West says. "You could see whenever, you know, we were in a group together and she was there, she tended to gravitate towards him and there was just this
easy kind of connection that was just evident from them. So, I think that he would make the best choice."

Another "Bachelorette" contestant he thought had the best chance with Ashley? 28-year-old winemakerBen F.

" ... he is just that really easy to get along with guy," West comments. "Super funny and he's just always so laid back, no matter what the situation and I thought that was really cool."

As to why Ashley decided to eliminate the 30-year-old South Carolina lawyer, the only contestant she chose to send home on the night where she was originally supposed to eliminate two, he blames a lack of one-on-one time and therefore chemistry with the 26-year-old beauty.

"She just didn't feel that chemistry with me I guess," West reflects. "I didn't really have a lot of time with Ashley, and I spent the lion's share of my time with the guys. That's just the nature of the experience, it's nothing against Ashley."

Surprisingly, West had nothing but good things to say about the controversial Bentley, whose shocking comments about Ashley behind her back had some calling him the "villain" of the show.

"My experience with Bentley is that he's a nice guy. I liked him," West says. "He seemed genuine and he talked about his daughter all the time. He was a good guy."

West also talked about his tragic backstory, where it was revealed that his wife Sarah drowned in their bathtub in 2007. His heavy past played a big part in his elimination, when Ashley wondered if he was really ready to move on. Much has been written about the circumstances of his wife's untimely passing, with Sarah's mother telling Star magazine that he was an "enabler" and insinuating that he was somehow involved in her daughter's death.

"I'm shocked her parents were willing to drag her name through the mud," West says about Sarah's mother and step-father's recent comments. "They were never involved in her life and some of her issues directly had to do with their actions. Anyone who knew us [he and Sarah] knows that I loved her and would never do anything to hurt her. It's a tragic situation ... but it is what it is."

But even after the intense experience on the show, West says that he is in fact ready to move on and hopefully find love. He is currently single and is open to being the next "Bachelor" if asked.

"I think that 'The Bachelor' presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to find love, you know, in an amazing set of circumstances with some incredible people," he says. "I would just have to trace it down and talk with my family and my loved ones and just consider it because it's an amazing offer and anyone that's ready to find love would have to consider it."