Almost two years after former Bachelor Chris Soules announced his breakup from Season 19 winner Whitney Bischoff, he’s reflecting on what really went wrong.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the hunky farmer — who has kept mostly quiet about the details of his failed relationship — explains that although the couple only lasted six months in the real world, he wasn’t “messing around” when he proposed to the fertility nurse.

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chris soules whitney bischoff

Chris and Whitney during the Season 19 finale of The Bachelor.

“When I [got down] on one knee, I thought that was it,” he says. “[But] once it’s all said and done, you do get to a new reality after the show’s over. Then you start to learn and figure out if the relationship’s actually going to work. So, having it not work was very disappointing. We tried really hard and once we both knew it wasn’t right, it wasn’t right — and that was the hardest part. When something like that doesn’t work out, that’s the darkest moment.”

Shortly after the couple got engaged, Chris moved on to compete in Season 20 of Dancing With the Stars — which only brought his relationship with Whitney even further into the public eye.

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“Having to announce to the world that you’re breaking up is a really weird situation,” he continues. “I understand that I went through a process that the world got to see, the world watched. I don’t expect any sympathy, [but] it was very difficult.”

But despite his emotional past with Whitney, the 35-year-old, who is currently single, told Life & Style last summer that he and his former fiancée have a “mutually amicable friendship.” One month after that, however, Whitney announced her engagement to boyfriend Ricky Angel — and now Chris admits he has “very minimal contact” with her but wishes her the best.