Bachelor’s Maria Admits She Was ‘Pulling Stunts’ Before Joey Sent Her Home

Maria Georgas played nearly every role on season 28 of The Bachelor, but she feels confident that her relationship with Joey Graziadei ended at the right time.

“I think, looking back, watching it has been my closure and everything played out exactly how it should have played out. I think our relationship ran its course and, yeah, it got to a point where I was pulling stunts, trying to leave and we were just all over the place,” Maria, 29, told Us Weekly after the Women Tell All taping.

Bachelor Nation watched Maria nearly quit the show before securing a hometown date earlier this month. While she stayed and accepted Joey’s rose, the move was seemingly the kiss of death for her relationship with the 28-year-old tennis pro. Maria attempted to salvage things, with plans to tell Joey that she loved him after he met her family, but she chickened out. Maria ultimately pulled Joey at the final rose ceremony to drop the L-bomb, but he sent her home anyway.

“I just think it was the right time to do it,” Maria told Us of her decision to let Joey know how she felt while Rachel Nance, Daisy Kent and Kelsey Anderson waited for him to give out roses. “I don’t want to look at it as a regret. I said what I said and I don’t regret it because I didn’t want to leave with any regrets and I would’ve regretted not saying it. And, maybe, it was the bad timing, but it is what it is and I’m happy how things have played out, for sure.”

How things are playing out is also still very much TBD as fans call for Maria to be the next Bachelorette.

“It’s blowing my fricking mind,” she told Us and another reporter of the intense fan support. “I didn’t expect it to be as overwhelming as it has been and I just appreciate them so much.”

The Canadian is all over the place when asked if she would accept the gig to hand out roses of her own.

“I mean, it is crazy to think that I was even considered and people want to see me in that position. I’ve never once thought about it, like, to even think I would get the chance,” she said. “That would be a crazy experience. I mean, I would be stupid to say no. But yeah, I mean, even being told that I should — I don’t know. I don’t know! It is a lot. But I’m very appreciative of people wanting to see me and see more of me. It’s been very nice to hear.”

Joey’s journey with his final two, Kelsey and Daisy, concludes on ABC Monday, March 25, at 8 p.m. ET.