Rachel Lindsay Is So Ready For 'The Bachelorette'

Since last month's big announcement that Rachel Lindsay is the next Bachelorette, it was obvious that she wouldn't be this season's Bachelor winner. It was only a matter of time before we found out when and why Nick would send her home, and on Monday night, it finally happened. Even knowing that Rachel wasn't getting that rose, I was shocked to see him eliminate her after the fantasy suite dates because of the strong connection they had, and now, it sounds like she feels the same way. Recently, Rachel responded to her Bachelor rejection, and it definitely sounds like it's a good thing she's the next Bachelorette.

In an interview with People at the taping of the Women Tell All special that aired on Monday night, she talked about how shocked she was when Nick gave the roses to Vanessa and Raven instead of her after their overnight dates in Finland. She said:

"It was very hard and sad for me to watch because it took so much for me to get there. Then I got there, and I felt that he reciprocated [my feelings]. He was saying what I was saying too. There was nothing in my mind to make me think that I wasn’t going to get a rose."

It was hard for me to imagine she wasn't getting a rose, and I already knew it wasn't going to happen! Their fantasy suite date definitely seemed like one of the best they'd had all season, and Nick even admitted that he was falling for her. But ultimately, what he had with Raven and Vanessa was stronger, and that meant having to let Rachel go.

She added:

"I tried to keep it in, but sitting there talking with him, all the emotions came out. It just brought me back to that place. I said it in the car, I’m so tired of hearing how great I am but for some reason it just doesn’t work out. I feel like I know a lot of women can relate to that. To hear how great you are but then nobody wants to seal the deal."

Ugh. Rachel. You are great! Nick is missing out on so much by ending things with her, but I have a feeling that soon, that won't even matter to her because she'll have two dozen guys showing up in limos, vying for her affection.

And despite her heartbreak, she seems optimistic about the future — duh, wouldn't you, if you were the next Bachelorette? She's going into the next part of her search for love with no regrets, and my fingers are crossed that this time, she finds exactly what she's looking for.

She said:

"This experience has been amazing for me. I wouldn’t have gotten the full experience if I hadn’t opened myself up to him. I would’ve gone home early. I said, ‘I’m already here taking a risk being on the show, so why not go all in? Why not react to exactly how I’m feeling?’ How I was feeling in the moment is that I was really falling in love with Nick and so I was going to express that. As hard as it was for me, I eventually got there. It’s hard to watch and to remember that let down, but I don’t regret it because it taught me so much about myself."

In the end, Nick's loss was Rachel's gain. I have a feeling that the adventure she's about to have will be well worth the pain that got her there, and I can't wait to see it all play out later this spring.