Josh Bourelle admits to cheating -- but says he doesn't want it discussed on 'The Bachelorette.'
Tayshia Adams' ex-husband is speaking out. Josh Bourelle broke his silence about her season of The Bachelorette during his Thursday appearance on the Reality Steve Podcast.
Tayshia and Josh were married for less than two years before their split in 2017. She has referenced their relationship and divorce a handful of times during her appearances on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, most recently sharing on Tuesday's Bachelorette that cheating was one of the "main reasons my marriage ended."
In the lengthy interview on Tuesday, Josh admitted to cheating on Tayshia, but said "there was a lot more to it than that." He said it was an "injustice" that his infidelity keeps being brought up on the show, and that it has been a "slight mar to my reputation."
Tayshia, on her part, has seemingly only discussed her divorce with a few contestants on The Bachelorette. Off camera, she slammed rumors last month that Josh would be making an appearance on the show. She also asked fans to leave Josh alone, arguing that he didn't sign up to be researched and talked about.
According to Josh, Tayshia did text him to apologize after the fan speculation, and reiterated the importance of his privacy. However, he's felt the need to share his side of the story on their split.
He claimed they were unhappy long before he cheated, that intimacy was lacking in their relationship, and that Tayshia was "coasting" despite his complaints about their marriage. Josh alleged that Tayshia didn't make an effort to work on their marriage until he cheated -- which he said was a "single occurrence" while she was out of town. He admitted his infidelity to Tayshia a few hours after she got home.
Their relationship eventually came to an end, and Josh said they separated with "mutual respect." Now, he feels she's crossed the line.
"Her going out and saying that I cheated on her and that was the reason for our divorce on national TV, I felt like kind of crossed the line on that a little bit because I feel like she was using that as her sob story to make her look better. It was hurtful to me because it wasn't just me that heard about that," Josh said, noting that his parents, their church, his current girlfriend and her family had all heard Tayshia's comments about their split.
"If she really is happy, then that's great, and if she really is happy, she shouldn't involve me in this show in any way," Josh continued. "She should just leave me out of the whole entire thing and dragging me in by saying that the reason for her past relationship's failure was infidelity and other things that basically didn't have to do with her -- it's a misrepresentation of her character."
Josh said he hopes Tayshia will speak more about her own mistakes, rather than discussing his infidelity to allegedly "pad" her image.
"Quit using one thing that happened in our relationship as a sob story to make people feel bad for you," he said in a message to Tayshia. "I mean, it's kind of hypocritical in a way because you're calling me a cheater, yet you're dating 25 different guys at the same time or whatever. It's been a tough situation for me and I'm kind of over it at this point."
Tayshia's journey on The Bachelorette continues next week, with episodes airing on Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
The Bachelorette previously teased to ET that her season is full of "ups and downs" and fans will be able to experience the roller coaster of emotions along with her. "There's lots of happiness, but there's also some sadness in it," she shared.
"The one opportunity I had to think about [going in] was, my heart was ready," she added. "With those intentions, I sort of went with it and it worked."
See more in the video below.
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