Krystal Nielson of 'The Bachelor' Has Only One Regret About the Show

Love to hate her or hate to love her, no one got Bachelor nation talking this season more than baby-voiced, ultra-confident Krystal Nielson. The 29-year-old fitness instructor stirred up every woman in the house with her actions, but that was just for show…right? Well. In a revealing interview with us, Nielson swears she’s living her best life and has nothing to regret. Glitter, anyone?

Glamour: You certainly were entertaining on The Bachelor this season.

Krystal Nielson: We were in the house [during filming] saying, “This shit is going to be so boring!” And then all of a sudden, bam!

Glamour: Did you have any idea how you were going to come off when you were filming?

KN: No.

Glamour: Really?

KN: No. I make bold decisions, and I feel like a lot of women in the house were very submissive and quiet. I stand apart for being bold, and I stand by that.

Glamour: Are you embarrassed after watching this season?

KN: No. I’m not embarrassed because in those moments I really felt that way. I came in and poured myself into this process. I got so f-cking vulnerable and open in my interviews, in my time with Arie, with the girls…. It wasn’t easy going down and confronting them multiple times on group dates, at rose ceremonies. I did and I stumbled and I fell down and f-cked up, but I grew from it. It’s how I felt in the moment, and I was really true to that.

Glamour: You said you stumbled. What would you do differently if you could go back and do it again?

KN: I wish that in Ft. Lauderdale I would have taken a breath and gone straight to Arie at the bowling alley. I wouldn’t have waited. Between the car ride back to the hotel and the group date, I just had so much time to be in my head and be really upset. I wish I would have gone straight to Arie and said, “Excuse me, why didn’t you consult our team? Because that felt very disrespectful to have the women here.”

Glamour: The way you talked to Arie and the other contestants got a lot of people talking. Things like, “My evening is going AH-MAY-ZING because I got a rose.” Were you aware of your tone?

KN: [Laughs.] I wasn’t sure that I talked like that, but I f-cking live in an awesome world. I do. And some people are like, “That’s delusional.” But my life kicks ass! My whole world is about empowerment and pouring [that into] people and overcoming challenges. I’m a fitness coach. So whether it’s working out or this process, just pour yourself into it. We’ll f-ck up and make mistakes, but we’re going to be better for it and stronger for the struggle.

Glamour: Where did the glitter bomb phrase come from?

KN: So that’s a thing I do as a [fitness] coach. When you hit that threshold, like, I’m done, I don’t want to go on, you gotta pull up your big girl pants and push to the end. It was that breaking point for me. I was done. The girls were tearing me down, and I was pissed at Arie. I was so upset with him, but I was like, I’m not quitting, I’m not giving up, I’m gonna push through it. I’m here for Arie, and despite what he said and how he hurt me I’m going to see it from his side. I’m still standing, despite adversity. And just…glitter! I’m not going to give up. I’m going to push through and persevere. Glitter!

Glamour: On the “Women Tell All” special airing this Sunday, Jacqueline insinuates you wanted Peter to be the Bachelor. Did you?

KN: Yeah, I did. The audition process is very long, and for 90 percent of it, I thought it was going to be Peter. I found out a week and a half before [it wasn’t]. I gave up my whole life, my career that I love so much thinking it was [going to be] someone else. Of course I felt disappointed, but at the same time I was very intrigued with Arie because I didn’t know anything about him. He seemed like such an eligible guy and down-to-earth. I was like, “I’m going to give him a shot.” And honestly, Peter knows he’s hot. Can you imagine what that season would be?!

Glamour: No.

KN: Oh my God. Everyone would have been Krystal! There would have been so much glitter! So much glitter!

Glamour: What’s the biggest misconception about you?

KN: What really hurt was people saying I was fake and disingenuous, and I wasn’t. It was a really challenging process for me and harder than I anticipated. I tried to approach all of girls when there was a confrontation, and I felt very hurt that they all talked shit behind my back about me but never to my face. So many times I expressed to them to please come talk to me because I never wanted to hurt someone. It sucks that I did hurt [people] because I never wanted that at all.

Glamour: Arie still has some hard feelings about how you acted on the show. Was that hard for you to hear?

KN: It wasn’t hard. No, it wasn’t. I’m compassionate! I can see the other side; sometimes it just takes me a moment to see it. I understood where Arie was coming from. I wanted to make sure it was very clear to Arie that I am a person outside of The Bachelor, and I don’t think he got that.