Viewers were surprised when Jillian Harris sent Sasha Petrovic home on Monday night's "The Bachelorette" after the 27-year-old oil and gas consultant from Houston, TX, opened up to her about a life-changing accident that could have left him paralyzed. Now find out what Sasha has to say about his ousting, why Juan is the least popular bachelor in the house and who is the right guy for Jillian.
ET: How do you feel about opening up about such a personal issue and moments later not getting a rose?
Sasha Petric: On the show everything gets squished in. Our conversation at dinner was pretty long. In between, we were doing interviews, and we had another 20-minute conversation. Opening up for me was important. It was important for me that Jillian understand who I was. That experience transformed me. As a result, I appreciate a lot of things that others don't.
When she said, "I can't give you the rose" and the reason, I was surprised. I talked about my expectations and how I cherished that love portion of it, so I have probably been in love and had my heart broken based on other people's criteria, but, for me, I hold it at a higher level. I haven't really felt that end-all and be-all falling in love and getting broken up with. So, it was really surprising, considering some of the guys that were left behind. I think we had pretty good chemistry and I think we had a pretty good conversation. At the end of the day, there a couple of guys that everybody knows aren't going to work out. I was one of the guys who was potentially well-rounded. Even say it was a small shot, it was still a shot, someone who was pretty quality in and out. Not an unemployed bartender.
ET: Do you wish you hadn't gone on the date?
Sasha Petric: Absolutely, I was glad. You don't come here to sit in the back and be in the bleacher seats. You come here to get to know her and for her to know you. That is the only place you want to be. For me, if me not having my heart broken and not being damaged goods is a prerequisite for her … I have plenty of friends who have married their high school and college sweethearts, and they are happy. I don't think you should judge something like that. I have been hurt tremendously in my past relationships. Obviously, things haven't worked out throughout my life with some of my relationships. It has been tough to deal with. Can I put a heartbroken sticker on it? Sure. If that is what it needs to be to get past that criteria, sure, but at the end of the day, do I feel that? Not really.
ET: Can you talk about what is going on between David and Juanand what is going on in the men's quarter?
Sasha Petric: Juan is a special character. When we first got in the house me and him didn't get along at all, just because he is the type of guy like that annoying cousin, who every time he sees you, slaps you in the back. After the first couple of times, you're like, "Take it easy." Luckily, I had the first date with the pool party and the car chase, so I was gone and when I came back to the house, the whole house was against him, which was a relief for me because I didn't have to deal with him anymore. Everybody was on him. Out of everybody, David for some reason just hates the guy. I talked to David about it probably 20 times, and I said, "Why do you care?" He said, "She doesn't know who he is. He is a snake. He is this and that." I said, "Let him spend time with her. He will bury himself. You know he is not going to do well. Just let it pass. You can't let it bother you, or you are going to go crazy. David was, "My dad had three heart attacks by the time he was 50. Things bother us in our family. I don't like feeling this way, but I can't help it. I legitimately can't stop hating him." It is interesting.
ET: What makes Juan a snake?
Sasha Petric: First of all, everyone thought he was a spy. They thought he was working for the show. He was 35. He was the oldest guy there. All the guys were hanging out in the bunkhouse, drinking beer, playing pool, outside playing basketball, interacting -- except Juan. Juan is hanging out in the corner not doing anything. Jillian would spontaneously come down and surprise us. So one time, he is just hanging out, he runs upstairs and puts on a pullover and looks nice. He hasn't been drinking all day long. He goes and gets a beer mug, comes in and stands by the guys playing pool. Two minutes later, Jillian walks in. Did he know? A bunch of the guys noticed it. He will alienate himself, and then when he needs to look like he is in the picture, he will look like he is one of the guys hanging out, having a beer and having a good time, when, in reality, he wasn't doing any of that. He plugged it in at the right time. So all the guys were, "What are you doing? If you don't want to hang out with us and drink beer, do it. Don't act as if you are a guy's guy." Be who you are. Brad was a weirdo, but he was who he was. Juan would be who he was around us, but when she pulled in, he acted as if he was one of the guys having fun. And going, "I don't know why they don't like me."
ET: Can you talk more about your accident and your injuries and how you overcame them?
Sasha Petric: It was a parents' worse nightmare. It was the second week of college. I was coming home. It [took place on] a really windy road in central Texas. It is called Devil's Backbone actually. I wasn't familiar with the area. I had a big Z71 truck. I was too far to the right. I over corrected, came across and hit a ditch. I wasn't wearing my seatbelt, which I do now every time. I flew out of the car, landed on my back, shattered my pelvis and crippled my leg. It is really weird. I don't remember any of it.
I woke up and I had already been life-flighted to Austin. I had a neck brace. I was in ICU. There were doctors everywhere. I had to go surgery. They had to pull my pelvis out, because my right hip jumped in about three inches and I would be all crooked. I was probably 190 and in very good shape, which saved my life, and the fact that I flew into a bamboo field, so the truck didn't cut me in half.
The tough part was coming home. I was 18 and all my friends were in college. I can't walk, I can't move. My parents had to bathe me. I couldn't even watch comedy movies, because inside my organs were so destroyed. I couldn't cough. If I sneezed, I was out of commission for six hours. Afterwards, you really appreciate just being able to get up in the morning and go outside and grab the paper.
I have always been a guy who could get through things and figure stuff out. No one really helps me out with anything. I always figure things out on my own. I have always been the backbone of my family. Like, when parents divorced, I helped out my sister. This was the one time in my life when I was weak, but it actually built me up stronger. From going through that, I now know what it is in life that is important. If you have a life-threatening illness, it puts everything in perspective.
ET: Who do you predict is the right guy for Jillian?
Sasha Petric: You could cut out half of them out of the gate, but if I had to put money on one guy, it would be a coin toss betweenKiptyn and Ed. I thought Ed was going to get kicked out after his one-on-one date. I was, "There is no way Ed is going to make it." I think they are each other's type. They just see eye to eye. He does have a different sense of humor. It is a little dryer. I think he is somewhat non-threatening to her. Some of the guys are too cocky and too confident and almost push her away, where Ed is more humble. If not him, maybe Kiptyn. He is an older guy. He lives on the West Coast. Kiptyn is the guy who never does anything bad, but never anything to differentiate himself. He is always in the safe zone.
