Here's What It Was REALLY Like When Colton Briefly Quit 'The Bachelor', According To An ABC Exec

Colton's fence-jumping was only the beginning. In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, an ABC executive is spilling all the tea about Colton's Bachelor season, and there's a lot of drama to go around. According to the exec, Colton quit The Bachelor at one point this season, but it sounds like the network didn't mind.

Referencing statements Colton made in January about quitting, ET asked Robert Mills, ABC's senior vice president of alternative series, specials, and late-night programming, how he felt about the situation. Mills had a pretty interesting response, telling the outlet,

"To be honest, I got kind of excited. It's something we've never seen before. To be more than 20 seasons in and have something new that no one's seen before play out is actually great."

Mills went on to clarify that ABC was concerned for Colton's well-being during the experience. "Whether this ends up with him engaged, married, single, dumped, you want to make sure he's OK," he told ET. "You never want this to be the biggest mistake of someone's life."

There's still a ways to go on the current season, but fans have seen Colton express some apprehension so far. He's stated multiple times that one of his worries about The Bachelor's premise is that he'll fall for, and potentially propose to, someone who's not ready for commitment.

In a January interview with ET, Colton said that during the fence-jumping moment, he really did feel like he'd quit The Bachelor. "I was gone for a while. In that moment, and the feelings I was feeling, I left the show," he told the outlet. "I needed time to myself... In the moment I was gone, there was no Bachelor."

The already infamous scene hasn't been shown on screen yet, but there has been another time so far when Colton needed a break from the show's setup. After unsuccessfully trying to get Onyeka and Nicole to stop arguing with each other in Thailand, Colton went for a walk alone on the beach. He's clearly not afraid to take some time to collect his thoughts — even if that means jumping over a fence to be alone for a few minutes.

During Mills' new conversation with ET, the ABC exec also teased that the finale to Colton's season will be "like nothing we've ever seen." Of course, The Bachelor teases dramatic seasons every year, but it does sound like Mills might be on to something here. (Even with the shocking turn of events during Arie's season, he never tried to leave the show entirely.)

ABC's trailer for the rest of this Bachelor season does make it look like Colton will propose to one of the contestants. And if he is currently engaged, it would (hopefully) make all of the ups and downs of the show worth it. Still, it's a refreshing change of pace to see Colton being so open about the pressure of the show and his need to take a moment alone now and then. The Bachelor seems like an incredibly stressful environment, and it's hard to blame Colton for wanting to quit the show, even if only for a little while.