Jenn Tran has no problem standing up for herself.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the Bachelorette, 26, shares what it was like facing her former suitors on Men say everything special. She says that while many of them are people she will have “really great friendships with” in the future, she knew she needed to call others out on their behavior.
“I grew so much during the trip that I am now a completely different person than I was on it,” she explains. “I have a new sense of self-confidence and empowerment, so looking back, there were definitely certain situations with [the guys] which really enlightened me afterwards and I was like, ‘Oh, now I can pinpoint exactly what’s wrong here and why I felt that way or why I didn’t stand up for myself.'”
She continues, “So I wanted to take this opportunity to stand up for myself because I want women everywhere to see that and understand that we shouldn’t take anything less than what we deserve.”
Back Row: Dylan, Brian, Grant, Sam N., John M., Marvin Row 3: Sam M., Spencer, Brendan, Hakeem, Jahaan Row 2: Brett, Kevin, Austin, Aaron, Devin, Ricky Front Row: Moze , Tomas A., Marcus, Jeremy, Jenn Tran, Thomas, Jonathon J., Dakota, Matt.
Michael Kirchoff/disney
Bachelorette Jenn Tran Says Sam M. Didn’t Get a Bad Edit: ‘Listen to Your Words’
In the special, Jenn talked about Sam M.’s “blatant disrespect” towards her on several occasions during filming. Highlighting their date where Sam pressured her to jump off New Zealand’s Sky Tower and claimed the show gave him a bad edit, Jenn told him to “do better”.
“You’re a grown man and instead of taking responsibility for your actions, you chose to blame the producers, the editor, the TV show, whatever,” Jenn said. “And at the end of the day, the man on TV was the exact man I sat across from the entire trip.”
The medical assistant went on to tell Sam M. that she felt “very, very sorry for whoever you end up with because this world of delusion that you’re living in right now and this denial isn’t going to work for anyone.”
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Sam M. (left) and Jenn Tran (right).
John Fleenor/Disney
Addressing the drama that transpired between the men — which she wasn’t aware of — Jenn tells PEOPLE that she was grateful to see it, but she’s also glad it didn’t get in the way of her meeting the boys.
“It’s so interesting – it’s crazy how they kept it all under wraps,” she says. “I just had no idea there was so much fighting, so much shouting, so much passion between all of them. I mean, it was fun to look back and see how passionate everyone was, but I’m happy that it never hindered my journey.”
Bachelorette Jenn Tran Took ‘Mental Notes’ About Drama But Didn’t Tune In Because ‘I’m Not Their Mom’ (Exclusive)
While she called some of the men’s behavior “enlightening,” Jenn teases that the finale puts her right where she needed to be.
“I don’t regret the whole trip,” she begins. “I think everything played out exactly the way it was supposed to play out and I’m very happy about that. By the way, all the mistakes I made and things like that, I own that and I’m happy to learn from them, so I don’t regret anything.”
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Bachelor The season 21 finale airs Tuesday, September 3 at 8pm on ABC.
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Source: HIS Education