Grant Ellis reveals the Bachelor moment that made him cringe the most: 'Sometimes I'm overly confident'

While the women of The Bachelor season 29 were shouting over each other at the Women Tell All reunion, Grant Ellis — the man at the center of all that drama — was not yet at the studio, and therefore blissfully unaware of all the chaos unfolding on stage.

"I still don't know what happened between the ladies at the Tell All because I wasn't there at that point in time," the Bachelor told Entertainment Weekly a few days after the reunion taped. "But I think some things got hashed out. I would like to think so."

Awwww, he's an optimist! Rather than shatter Grant's illusions about how his exes got along at the Women Tell All (read our recap here), we chatted with the Bachelor about watching his "journey" to find "love" unfold on TV after living through it. Read on to hear Grant's thoughts on all that Carolina drama, the revelation that Dina told her family not to come to hometowns, and the moment that made him cringe the hardest.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Congrats on surviving the Women Tell All!

GRANT ELLIS: Thank you. I barely made it! [Laughs] I’m messing with you, but thank you.

Who were you the most nervous to see again?

I was nervous. Any time you're seeing your exes, you're going to be nervous. Obviously, I knew there was going to be a situation where I had to answer to some things with Carolina and Rose. So that was definitely something I was looking forward to, but I was nervous to see everybody.

The Women Tell All really focuses on the drama of the season, a lot of which you probably weren't privy to until you watched it back. When you watched it back, what conflict surprised you the most?

When you're the lead, you don't really see everything, but you have a general consensus of what's going on based off of the group dates and everything. So, I wasn't really surprised. I just wanted to kind of see how the ladies would sort out the situation. And I think that they got everything situated.

What struck you the most about all the different conflicts the women had with Carolina?

I think anytime a group of people genuinely have issues with one person, that's a little telling. I still don't know what happened between the ladies at the Tell All because I wasn't there at that point in time, but I think some things got hashed out. I would like to think so.

One big topic of discussion at the WTA was the drama over Rose’s assertion that you told her, “When I was dancing on stage with Carolina, I was thinking about you.” As we saw at the reunion, what you actually said was, “Even today, right? The whole dancing thing on stage and everything — I was thinking about you.” Were you surprised by that misunderstanding?

During that whole group date, we choreographed with Robin Antin, and I was on stage with all the ladies dancing. That's what I meant by [what I said to Rose]. I think there's a vast difference between what I said and it being something where I'm on stage dancing with somebody on a time that it was supposed to be the two of us, and it was given to them for winning the challenge, and saying I was thinking about somebody else. It was me reassuring somebody, saying, “When I was on stage, I was thinking about you.” I understand where Rose was coming from, but I didn't mean to put anybody down. I didn’t mean it that way.

At the reunion, Dina said it was her decision for you not to meet her family. Were you surprised by that?
Oh, see, I didn't know. I thought that it was her family's decision not to come. But I understand if her family wasn't comfortable, then it was the right decision. If they didn't want to come and then she made them come, it would've left a bad impression. You would be able to tell they didn't want to be there. So I think that the decision she made was the right one. Her not progressing [to Fantasy Suites], it didn't have anything to do with that. It just was [about] what I needed in a relationship.

Grant loses at tug-of-war on 'The Bachelor'.ABC
Speaking of hometowns, I have to say, I was surprised by your poor showing during the tug-of-war game with Litia’s family.

[Laughs] Listen, the boots I was wearing were not tug-of-war boots. They were like Chelsea boots and they were slippery. I could have done a lot better.

What did you learn about yourself from watching the show back?

I learned not only from watching but from filming. I learned that I had a lot of undiscovered emotions that I had suppressed in me. When I talked, I ended up crying a lot on the show. There were things with my dad and other things that I needed to uncover in myself. So, I learned that I am an emotional guy.

Was there anything you did that made you cringe watching it back?

Yeah, definitely. I say, “You know what I'm saying” a lot. [Laughs] And then the whole piano scene at the mall made me cringe. When I was filming, I didn't think it was that bad, but then watching it back, I was like, “Ahhhh!” Sometimes I'm overly confident, so I thought I did a good job.

Grant serenades Alexe on 'The Bachelor'.ABC
Was there a moment that you were sure was going to make the bloopers, but didn’t?

Yeah, I think when we were at Vanderpump Dogs, a dog used the bathroom on the floor, and I kind of ran into it — I stepped in it almost. I’m surprised that didn’t make it.

Finally, of all the women who were present at Women Tell All, who do you think would make the best Bachelorette and why?

I think Alexe would make a good Bachelorette. She has a really good personality. Or Parisa. I’d like Parisa as the Bachelorette — she’s really unique.

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.