Heavy/ABC Rachel Recchia dished on her split with Tino Franco.
When Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey co-starred as “The Bachelorette” leads in 2022, Tino Franco was an early frontrunner for Recchia’s final rose. The season ended with Franco and Recchia engaged, but by the time the finale aired, the relationship had gone sour.
The implosion of Franco and Recchia’s relationship was detailed during the finale and “After the Final Rose” special. However, many Bachelor Nation fans felt there seemed to be some pieces of the puzzle missing. Recently, “The Bachelorette” star shared some additional details about what went wrong.
Here’s what you need to know:
‘Bachelorette’ Rachel Recchia Disputes Tino Franco Made a 1-Time Mistake
As “The Bachelorette” wrapped, fans learned that the relationship with Franco had disintegrated after the cameras stopped rolling. As Today recapped, Recchia explained that the couple “started going through a difficult time” as the season began airing.
Eventually, she explained, Franco revealed he had “cheated” on her. The chaos that came after his admission had been recorded and shown to the audience. It had been clear there was no chance of reconciliation between them.
Franco admitted he “kissed another girl,” and she was someone from “before” he joined “The Bachelorette.” On-camera, he explained the two of them “never went on a date, didn’t do anything, just kind of a passing ‘oh you know, I’m going on the show.” Because he knew he’d be doing “The Bachelorette,” the two didn’t pursue a relationship at that time.
After the show, Franco noted they would run into one another at a bar and mention they had catching up to do. He later told Recchia the kiss, “Was a one-time mistake and I realized it immediately.”
On September 26, Recchia joined former “The Bachelor” Nick Viall on his podcast, “The Viall Files.” They touched on some things Franco had said in recent interviews. In connection with that, Recchia wanted to clarify some details.
In talking about what happened, Recchia said, “There is so much more than just the physical kiss” to the “cheating” situation. “The Bachelorette” star explained, “There was this emotional relationship happening.” She added, “This person that it happened with was someone he was gonna date after the show.”
Recchia Says There Was ‘Flirting’ & ‘Texting’ With the Woman Before the Kiss
“It’s just hard for me to hear him, I guess, continue to be, like, ‘Oh it’s just this one drunken mistake,’ because it wasn’t,” Recchia explained. “The Bachelorette” star said she understood he was in a difficult position at the time. However, she also was frustrated at what she felt was Franco saying it was just a random misstep.
Viall brought up, “This wasn’t some random girl,” and Recchia replied, “No.” Viall added that initially, his impression had been that Franco kissed a random woman while out at a bar.
Recchia explained this woman and Franco initially connected prior to filming. While they didn’t date then, they apparently talked about giving it a go when he returned home. Then, when he returned, he was “in this awkward position” where the woman was wondering why they weren’t dating.
“The Bachelorette” added that Franco essentially had to dance around the fact he was under contract. That meant he couldn’t reveal that he was engaged to Recchia.
She recalled that as Franco admitted to the cheating incident, he told her, “‘There had been a couple of times where I was out and we were flirting a little, there was a little bit of texting.'” When she thought that’s all it was, she explained, “I was like, ‘That’s fine, like, flirting, it’s innocent.”
Recchia reiterated she understood Franco was in a tough spot at the time. In fact, she detailed, they were fighting a lot at that point. However, Recchia insisted, “We were not on a break, we were still fully engaged” even though “the relationship was failing.”
To try to salvage the relationship, upon advice from her therapist, Recchia suggested the couple “take a step back” and focus on friendship. She recalled Franco was upset by that, and she understood why. Once he admitted to the cheating, however, she was done.
Despite all of that, Recchia said, “I really have moved forward.” While she did discuss it all on the podcast, Viall was the one who brought the situation up during the podcast. “The Bachelorette” star admitted, “I guess it’s just hard to know what I know and then still have this stuff” swirling around, referencing Franco presenting the details differently in interviews.
Recchia did say, “I would love to have a conversation with him if he’s ever open to it.”