The contestant says he's '#faithfuloverfamous.'
Luke Parker is defending himself after his headline-making argument with Hannah Brown played out on Monday night's episode of The Bachelorette.
The Gainesville, Georgia, native's faith had been a focal point of this season, and while he and Brown initially connected over Christianity, it tore them apart when Parker seemingly shamed Brown for potentially sleeping with the other contestants. (Spoiler alert: she slept with at least one man, Peter Weber. In an effort to convince Parker to leave the reality show, she confessed to having "f**ked in a windmill.")
In a lengthy note posted to Instagram on Monday, Parker said it hurt his heart that Brown felt "shamed" by the situation.
"In our conversation my heart was never to judge or condemn Hannah. I was simply making a decision for myself on what I expected in our relationship, our conversations and our beliefs lead me to believe we were on the same page about sex," he wrote. "For me it was never about getting a rose, it was always about finding a wife who would choose me everyday just as I would choose her everyday."
"As for my time on the show I made mistakes and no I’m not perfect (crazy right) I didn’t totally behave as the man I want to be and I did not represent Christ the way I thought I was prepared to and that has broken me," Parker continued.
The 24-year-old concluded his message by reflecting on his "journey" -- which will continue to play out with his unexpected return in a future episode, according to a promo. "This journey has taught me so much and for that I am grateful but the greatest gift I have received is a compassion for those who love the world and it’s ways. My desire is to put the Father first above all things and share the truth that he has given to us all. Thank you everyone for the prayers always remember speak truth and rid yourself of all hate, let compassion drive your words. Stay tuned. #faithfuloverfamous."
Parker then went after Brown on Twitter, writing, "@AlabamaHannah The difference in how we view sin is seen in the response, I’m weeping at mine and you’re laughing at yours. All sin stings. My heart hurts for both of us."
Brown didn't take too kindly to Parker's words. "@luke_parker777 time and time again jesus loved and ate with 'sinners' who laughed. and time and time again he rebuked 'saints' that judged. where do you fall Luke? #TheBachelorette," she tweeted shortly after.
"I have never said that i find my sin funny," she added. "I’m not going to [be] lectured on appropriate emotional responses by a guy who threw deli meat in a guys lap."
Parker then replied, telling Brown that's he free to talk more about their argument offline -- even though he's the one who took it to Twitter. "Your tweets about the windmill and the wood were enough, it’s not about the action it’s about the response. If you want to talk about it, you know how to get ahold of me," he said.
While speaking with ET's Lauren Zima at The Bachelorette: Men Tell All taping on Friday, Brown told ET she was "frustrated" by having to reveal her sex life to the world just to get Parker to leave.
"It was really frustrating for me," she said. "I will be very honest when asked anything, but I feel like that question [about who I had sex with] was really pointed, because it was contingent on whether he was going to stay or not or really whether I was worthy of him, his love."
"Before that, he had said he loved me, he wanted to marry me. But he needed to know my intimacy with the other guys for him to know if I was worth it or not is what it felt like and seemed," Brown continued. "It just really was not OK for him to ask that or for that to matter so much. Like, is that your end all be all, for how you decide who you wanna spend the rest of your life with?"
Brown also opened up to ET about whether she gave Weber a heads up that the nation was about to find out they slept together -- twice -- in a windmill. See more on the Bachelorette in the video below.
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Join ET's Bachelor Nation Facebook group here.
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