Ivan Explained The Religious Differences That Made Tayshia Send Him Home

Hearts broke all over the country last night when Tayshia Adams sent home fan-favorite Ivan Hall on the finale of The Bachelorette. The elimination came as a shock to many, mainly because Tayshia cited religious differences as the reason for their split. Any conversations that the two may have had about religion never aired on the show, leaving fans very confused. Thankfully, Ivan took to Instagram to provide some clarity on the situation.

"She only wants to date a Christian and I'm not religious," the contestant wrote in a text to Bachelor alum Caila Quinn, which she posted on her Instagram Story on Tuesday, Dec. 22. "I'm open to and have dated any religion," he added. For Tayshia, however, not aligning in their faith appeared to be a deal-breaker, which became clear at the start of last night's episode.

"With you, I feel like since the very beginning, I feel like we started off really strong, and we found that trust," Adams told Hall before sending him home. "But also, this past week, we talked about some important subjects that I feel like we both needed to have. But there are some things kinda posed concern." Though she told Ivan at the time that she didn't see "any red flags" with Ivan up to that point, Tayshia told Entertainment Tonight that their private fantasy suite conversation illuminated multiple differences between the two of them.

"I think the beauty of the fantasy suite date is that you have that opportunity to really talk about things you might be shy talking about in front of the camera... really diving into the nitty gritty of a relationship and what the future could possibly look like," she told Lauren Zima about the reasons behind the breakup. "Sure, religion was one of the reasons — but there were multiple things that we talked about that we kind of didn’t align on."

She continued by noting that she had an easier time picturing a future with some of the other men than she did imagining a life with Ivan. "At the end of the day, when I was looking at my relationships with Zac and Ivan, it was just that I saw my future with Zachary, that was where my heart led me, and I can only just lead to that," Tayshia said. "Unfortunately, that was where it just had to end."

Ivan admitted during their final conversation that while differing faiths were never an issue in his past relationships, he was "struggling" with bringing it up with Tayshia. "All the girls I have dated in the past, it never ended because of religion or anything," he told Tayshia. "But I know that's something that's important to you, and I do apologize for that, and I wish I did bring it up a little sooner. That is the roadblock for the two of us."

As we now know, things ultimately worked out for Tayshia, who found exactly what she was looking for in 36-year-old addiction specialist Zac Clark. In an interview with Good Morning America on Wednesday, Dec. 23, the pair confirmed that they're still going strong. Then, Zac doubled down on his feelings for the now-former Bachelorette in a romantic Instagram post. "My ride or die," he wrote alongside a photo of them kissing. "I love you, Tayshia!"