Despite their breakup, the reality star says she's 'forever grateful' for the experience.
Vanessa Grimaldi is "trying to look forward" and "remain positive" following her shocking split from Nick Viall.
Less than a month after she and the former Bachelor star called off their engagement, Grimaldi is opening up about what went wrong -- and how she's moving on.
"My relationship with Nick and experience on The Bachelor has given me so many amazing and memorable moments in my life, and I am forever grateful," Grimaldi explains in a new interview with People. "Nick and I were always transparent about the challenges in a relationship. We certainly had ours. I fell for him hard, and when you fall in love that hard, your heart breaks even harder."
"In the end, as much as we loved each other and tried to make it work, we just realized we were different people fighting to keep a relationship when ultimately we just weren't the best fit for each other," she continues. "It wasn't the distance that was ever an issue. Both Nick and I decided together, with our families' support, that I would put my teaching career on hold and uproot my life to Los Angeles to support him on Dancing With the Stars and build a life together."
Despite the breakup, Grimaldi says she's doing her best to move on, and wants fans to know it's OK to "feel broken."
"Whatever hardships people are going through, don't be embarrassed of feeling no feelings," she advises. "If it's anger, hurt, sadness -- just remember at the end of the day to remain optimistic, because you will come out of it, and you'll come out it a stronger person. It always will be OK in the end."
"There's no one set way to get over heartbreak," she continues. "When going through any hardship, it’s OK to take the time to grieve the loss of what could have been. It's OK to cry and curl up under your covers for as long as you need. I'm not ashamed to say that I've done all of those things, but with my family's and close friends' support – it's all really helped the process for me."
"When you fall in love with someone with all that you have, it’s hard to let go," she adds. "Every part of you gets shattered. I'm trying to pick up the pieces. … I hope he finds his person and his happily ever after that we unfortunately couldn't find together."
