Former Hudson resident Caila Quinn has been thinking a lot about relationships lately. And millions of TV viewers want to know what she’s thinking.
She was a contender on The Bachelor until recently, when Ben Higgins chose to continue his search for love with two other women but not with Quinn. But she remains a fan favorite to be the next star of The Bachelorette.
“It’s something I definitely would consider,” Quinn said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “My No. 1 priority in life is to find the one for me. So if it works for others, it could work for me and I definitely would consider it.” But that conversation has not happened yet and, she said, “At the moment, I’m taking some time for me.”
On Monday night, about 8 million people around the country watched Higgins send Quinn home, and the rejection was painful for the 24-year-old software sales representative. Convinced she and Higgins were meant for each other, she began chatting with him. And he told her his affections were elsewhere.
She was shocked and angry — at one point claiming that Higgins’ explanation just sounded like a line he was handing her.
“I’ve never been broken up with before, and it came as a surprise to me … that was where the conversation was going,” she said.
As viewers know, after she had been put in a car meant to take her off the show, she got out and went back to talk to Higgins one more time.
“I think that helped me,” she said. “For me to move on, I wanted to get one real, genuine answer from him. The first time I went in the car, the way we left things was a little cold for me. That’s not how I wanted to leave things.”
Talking to him again, she heard a firmer declaration that Higgins had not made up his mind before, well, the fantasy suites. Women have the option of spending a no-cameras night with Higgins in a romantic suite. All three of the women agreed to it, and Quinn has no regrets about her decision.
But she was unaware how much Higgins was drawn to the other two women, Joelle “JoJo” Fletcher and Lauren Bushnell.
“I’m feeling a lot better after watching it back and seeing his connection with the other women,” she said. “They kind of progressed more [in relationships] than mine did.”
Who does he love?
Indeed, when the show aired, she saw Higgins telling the other women he loved them. (Yes, both women. That’s the dilemma driving the show toward its season finale on March 14.) She had not expected that. On the show, after telling Higgins she loved him, she assumed he could not say it back.
“I think all of America thought there was an accepted understanding” that the bachelor or the bachelorette doesn’t say “I love you” before the final rose ceremony, she said.
“Looking at that was hard because I didn’t think that he could say those words. The fact that he could say them to the other girls just shows his connection was stronger, and I’m not going to dwell on the fact that he felt passionately about other people.”
Still, when she pressed Ben after getting out of the car, she found his answer “a little more genuine to me. It didn’t feel so rehearsed. … Either way he was going to let me go, so I appreciate that we had the opportunity to speak a little more and to have closure.”
A difficult situation
Since leaving the show, she saw Higgins at the taping of a Women Tell All special airing Monday. Higgins has announced that he’s engaged and, she said, “He seems very happy, and I’m happy for him. He’s a great guy and he deserves that.”
She has spent some of her me-time with her family, including her father Chris Quinn, CEO of Streetsboro-based toy manufacturer Step2, and her mother, Rosanna. (Caila perked up considerably when asked about taking Higgins to the Step2 factory for the show’s hometown visit. “I wish I could bring everyone on the factory tour!”)
Her family has been “very, very supportive” throughout this, and they had talked about what Caila wanted in a relationship even before she went on the show, When she came back from The Bachelor, Caila said: “They saw me in pain and didn’t understand why. Now they can see the extent of my love for Ben. I’m appreciative that they got that clarity.”
As for how she managed to last as long and as drama-free as she did on The Bachelor, Quinn said: “There’s no premeditated strategy that I had. I did some self-reflection before I joined the show; I just wanted to focus on Ben and I, and I wouldn’t let that affect my relationship with the women.
“It’s a very hard situation. It’s something that a lot of people aren’t prepared for. A lot of conflict in general with women stems from insecurities. Some women’s relationships weren’t as strong as others, and that insecurity played out into drama. I didn’t have that insecurity. I just trusted in Ben and I, and that kept me strong through this experience.”
She said she got along with the other women, even Olivia Caridi, the season’s main villain.
“I can only speak to my relationship with Olivia,” Quinn said. “I’ve had a very positive one. I feel that Olivia was just someone who had a crush on a guy, and not everyone deals with it in the same way. That’s her own personal journey. … I think everything that was shown was pretty accurate. You can’t fake some of the things that she said. I just chose to overlook them.”
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal, Ohio.com, Facebook, Twitter and the HeldenFiles Online blog. You can contact him at 330-996-3582 or rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.