WARNING: The following contains major spoilers.
Just days after the premiere ofThe Bachelorette, winnerGarrett Yrigoyenwas immersed in a social media firestorm.
News broke that Yrigoyen, 29, who was then secretlynewly engagedtoBecca Kufrin, had previously liked a series ofhighly inflammatory Instagram posts, including some that were racist and homophobic.
“It was tough,” Yrigoyen tells PEOPLE exclusively of the public outcry and fans of the show labeling him a bigot and worse. “I didn’t mean to offend anyone.”
Aaron Smith
“Just because I liked it, doesn’t necessarily mean that I supported it,” he says in this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on stands Friday. “I was raised in a very open-minded family that was accepting to everybody. We’re very non-judgmental. I’m genuinely sincere.”
When the posts were uncovered, Kufrin wasquick to defendYrigoyen.
“People have been saying really terrible things about [Garrett], but that’s not who he is,” she says now. “At his core, he’s a good guy. We’ve all made mistakes and done things that aren’t perfect. But all I could ask for is somebody who owns up to what they’ve done and who apologizes and wants to grow. And that’s what he’s done.”
And when it comes to their relationship, Yrigoyen gives credit to a strong foundation for their ability to get past the hard times.
“We started a foundation of being honest and open and transparent,” he says. “Anything that’s come about, or just dealing with anything, that’s how we address it — head on. It makes our relationship so much stronger, and we continue to grow together.”
source: people.com
