Why The Bachelorette's Brendan Morais Left The Show

In a heartbreaking turn of events, Brendan Morais pulled himself out of the running for Tayshia Adams' heart on The Bachelorette a week after she met his family.

Brendan and Tayshia shared the first one-on-one date of Tayshia's season, and they instantly connected over their shared values and the fact that they both had previously been married. Their relationship grew steadily throughout the season and by hometown week, Tayshia admitted that she could see herself falling in love with the commercial roofer, as reported by Entertainment Weekly. Plus, Brendan's family told Tayshia that Brendan was undoubtedly ready for marriage after he gave his brother an emotional speech about how much he wants marriage and kids in the future.

This confirmation gave Tayshia the confidence she needed going into fantasy suite week with Brendan. To kick off their date on the Dec. 21, 2020, episode, Tayshia decided to bring Brendan to check out wedding bands with Neil Lane himself, who famously provides the engagement rings for the Bachelor franchise. The date seemed to be a dream for Tayshia, who smiled as she tried on diamond-encrusted earrings, bracelets, and rings. Even Brendan got to try on a fancy ring, but he didn't seem as calm, cool, and collected as the bachelorette

Day turned into night, and the couple sat down for an intimate dinner, but it didn't go as planned. After an honest, but upsetting conversation, Brendan decided to break up with Tayshia. Here's why The Bachelorette's Brendan Morais left the show.

Brendan Morais had doubts prior to fantasy suite week

There was a reason why Brendan looked so uneasy while checking out wedding bands with Tayshia Adams: He didn't know if he was ready for engagement. Viewers saw Brendan debating his feelings even before meeting Neil Lane. "I've been here before, but when I propose to someone for the second time, that person is going to be my wife for the rest of my life," he told cameras (per Entertainment Tonight). "An engagement ring means you're going to be mine forever, and that means so much. But, am I ready to give Tayshia the commitment of forever? I don't know," he continued.

However, Brendan's lack of confidence didn't necessarily shock Bachelorette fans. In the Dec. 8, 2020 episode of the reality show, Brendan appeared extremely nervous while hooked up to a lie detector. After being asked if he would be ready to propose to Tayshia, he muttered, "I hope so." It's clear Brendan takes engagement seriously, which is all a Bachelorette could want. However, it was the gravity of engagement that ended up scaring him away.

The Bachelorette's Brendan Morais came to a huge realization

Simply put, the wedding band date with Neil Lane scared Brendan Morais away from courting Tayshia Adams. Even though he thought he was ready to fall in love again, Brendan admitted to Tayshia that he was wrong.

"I want a wife and kids and a family more than anything on the face of this earth. But then coming to the realization that there's a big part of me that's still broken," he told Tayshia after she said she needed more clarity about his feelings. "All I want is to give my whole heart, but as I sit here today, my heart isn't whole," he continued. 

Tayshia was dumbfounded, at one point admitting that in the past she would be super angry. However, she said she knew where Brendan is coming from because she's been in his shoes. "As much as I would love to be with you at the end of all this, if you're not ready, that's not something I'm going to push you to do," she replied. "I've already fought for someone to try and love me once, I'm not going to do it again."

Tayshia and Brendan said their goodbyes, and Tayshia returned to her suite, where the next day, she had another surprise visitor: Ben Smith. With yet another curve ball thrown at her, the Bachelorette finale is looking to be an emotional whirlwind.