Rachel Has Strong Words For 'Bachelorette' Fans Who Think She "Settled" For Bryan

It's no secret by now that not all of America is super happy that Rachel picked Bryan in The Bachelorette season finale. After an extremely emotional breakup with fan-favorite and Nice Midwestern Dude Peter, some fans had serious doubts that Rachel could turn around and be excited about a proposal from Bryan the very next day. But our Bachelorette has never been shy about letting her haters have it, and now Rachel has strong words for fans who think she settled.

"It baffles my mind. I don’t understand [that response]," Rachel tells reporters at a press event for the BarkBox at Target launch. As a proud dog mom of Copper (who loves the Bark toys) she was happy to play with pups at the press breakfast with her fiancé by her side. The same fiancé that she purposefully chose. "Peter said he would propose to me and I still said no ... I knew what I was going to do, but everyone was so caught up in the finale," she says.

Many fans seemed to feel that Rachel had only accepted a proposal from Bryan because Peter had expressed reservations about getting down on one knee, and Rachel wanted that ring. While that doesn't necessarily seem like the Bachelorette's style, it did appear a little bizarre that she could feel so enthused about a proposal when the night before she cried her eyelashes off in Peter's hotel room. But Rachel insists that choosing Bryan was anything but a plan B.

"Now if I picked Whaboom, I settled. That’s settling," Rachel jokes. "This [Bryan and her] makes perfect sense."

In the end, it really only matters how Bryan and Rachel feel about their relationship and engagement. But I have a hunch that quite a few fans would disagree with Rachel's statement that their relationship "makes perfect sense."

It remains to be seen whether Rachel and Bryan can change America's mind about their engagement, but the fact of the matter is, it doesn't really matter what we all think. If the new couple are happy together, then America should try to celebrate their love.

Or, at the very least, look forward to the possibility that Peter might be the new Bachelor. A girl can dream.