by Gina Scarpa

 

Millions of people tuned in to the season finale of The Bachelor: On The Wings Of Love to see Jake Pavelka choose Vienna Girardi and ask her to be his wife. Prior to the proposal, though, he had to let one woman down: Tenley Molzahn. Tenley came onto The Bachelor with her heart open, ready to love again, after being deeply hurt by a previous relationship. Jake broke her heart, telling her that the connection between them felt forced and that he loved her, but something was missing. She handled the rejection with grace and class, thanking him for the experience and saying she learned a lot about herself. Today, Tenley spoke to RealityWanted and reporters in a press conference call about her experiences on The Bachelor, if she's dating again, and where her life is headed now.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You handled last night's rose ceremony with such grace and class. How did you keep it together the way that you did?
A. Tenley: From the very first moment that I saw Jake on that date, I had a feeling that it wasn't me because of the way that he treated me. It was a different kind of greeting than we usually had. He had a lot of concern on his face. I kind of had peace with knowing that if he was that concerned, then I was probably best to be going home. It was hard to say goodbye to my friends that I built a great relationship with. I think that the reason I was able to handle it the way I did, I really had been praying, "I don't wanna be in another relationship that's not going to be the one. If I'm that far into it, let me go." I think it worked out for the best. He seems very happy with Vienna.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You opened up to Jake and his family this season about the divorce that you went through. Was that tough for you to do that, not only in front of them, but on national television?
A. Tenley: Honestly, I wasn't really thinking about how I was going to be talking about it on national television. It wasn't really hard. It was something I needed to overcome. There was some pain that hadn't been completely dealt with. Because I was doing it on national television, I hope that it does something in a positive way and gives people with similar experiences hope for a great future. Even though I didn't end up with Jake, I haven't given up on love. This heartbreak isn't gonna stop me.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: On the finale, you spoke about being grateful for this experience because you got yourself back in the process. Can you talk a little bit more about what you took away from this experience?
A. Tenley: This experience really did change my life. It helps me let go a lot in environments where I didn't really have any say. A lot of things were surprising. It helped me relax and live in the moment. I needed that. I love this new way of not taking any moments for granted. I'm still very, very human so sometimes I get wrapped up but I wanna definitely live in the moment and enjoy myself and be free. I really do believe in love. Having Jake be my friend and let me open up to me and him opening up to me helped me get over a hurdle I needed to get over. It was a great relationship that I had and I'm actually thankful for the ending.

Q. Did you watch last night's finale and did it take you back?
A. Tenley: I caught most of the show. I missed my date with Jake's family and I can't wait to watch it because I have great memories of that day. Watching it definitely took me back there and everything was pretty accurate. There's always things you don't get to see, romantic moments. I thought we had a great chemistry but he obviously had a different spark with Vienna. It was fun to watch it but hard to go back and remember that moment of saying goodbye because I had such a great relationship with him.

 

Q. Both Jake and Vienna have said, and you've said, that you're going to stay friends. Do you think that that's going to happen?
A. Tenley: I hope that Jake and I can have a friendship. I want to respect him and his engagement to Vienna. I would never want to come in the way of that. I actually never got to know Vienna. We didn't interact much at all. She was on the other side of the mansion and we were in different RVs on the road trip. I guess I wouldn't mind getting to know her.

 

Q. Is there anything that you would've done differently throughout the show or in the last few days?
A. Tenley: I wouldn't change a thing that I did. My goal was to be me and I was me. I wanted somebody to fall in love with me for who I was and know that I was putting myself out there and not portraying somebody else. I didn't want to get stuck in a relationship that I would have to conform for. I wouldn't do anything different. My only strategy was being myself and I think it ended the way it was supposed to end.

 

Q. Do you feel like Jake got to really know you?
A. Tenley: I think that Jake has a great idea of who I am but I think he missed out on some of my really goofy moments. I don't know if Jake would even know that side of me. I think there's a lot to still learn about one another when I think back. He didn't get to see my spontaneous side.

 

Q. Are you not doing Dancing With The Stars because you're a professional dancer?
A. Tenley: No no no, I wouldn't ever consider myself a professional dancer. I am trained in ballet and jazz but not to a great professional extent. I have no training in ballroom or Latin dancing or any partner dancing. I don't know why they didn't call me but it's okay. Jake will be fun to watch! If they ever need a backup, they can call me. I think it would be a great little surprise for the season if they added me to it so I could be Jake's competition. If you're up for that one, I totally am.

 

Q. What do you think about Ali being the new Bachelorette?
A. Tenley: I'm so excited for Ali! I think she's going to be excellent at it and she's going to have a blast. I think she'll be a bit overwhelmed but I think she's going to have fun with that. I wouldn't even mind if she wanted to call me and ask me for some advice. Maybe me and some of the other girls can come scope out those guys for me. Maybe one of those guys won't be Ali's type, but my type!

 

Q. Are you dating anyone now?
A. Tenley: I'm really overwhelmed with this new dating scene. I haven't really been a part of the dating scene for a while, besides with Jake. I think I'm going to take things very slow at first so I can see where it leads me. I think I'm going to start out with friends.

 

Q. What are you up to now?
A. Tenley: Now I'm just back to work, like normal, at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. I'm hoping this opportunity and experience has given me more of a voice than I've ever had before when nobody knew who Tenley was. Hopefully, I can use it. I'm really excited to work with this organization Live, Love. Maybe there will even be some dating in the near future?

 

(Image courtesy of ABC)

 

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

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