Standing at the grand finale alongside Darvid Garayeli, Jamie-Lee had been in the Bachelorette Mansion with a mission to win Brooke’s heart. From the moment they first met on the Bachelor several years ago, the pair admitted feeling a spark.
Unfortunately, during the final ceremony, Brooke told Jamie Lee her heart was with someone else.
“It’s not how I saw things going,” Jamie-Lee said during the episode, “I’m sad it ended this way but it just wasn’t meant to be.”
After years of ‘sliding doors’ moments, Jamie-Lee knew this was her final chance to ‘shoot her shot’. Admittedly, it wasn’t an easy decision for Jamie-Lee to return to the Mansion all these years later.
“I wasn’t sure whether I’d be stepping over that boundary of friendship and there was a huge chance that, out of all of this, I would have lost my friendship with Brooke,” Jamie-Lee told 10 play.
“That was something that really weighed on my mind,” she continued. “It was a difficult decision but I’m really glad I did it. I’m glad I took the chance because it’s good to know. Now I know.”
Walking up to Brooke in the grand finale, Jamie-Lee admitted that she “didn’t have any idea on how it was going to go” but was cautiously optimistic that she would be the one Brooke would choose.
“I was really hopeful,” she said, adding, “I was scared, but hopeful is the main word there because… obviously there’s so much going through your mind and, to be honest I really wasn’t mentally prepared for it to go the way that it did.
“I don’t think I was prepared either way, I was just trying to take each moment for what it was, and when Brooke said that it wasn’t me I was not taken aback but really upset. But also, in that same breath, I was really happy for her that she had found love.”
Jamie-Lee found herself in the strange position of heartbreak, while simultaneously feeling the joy of seeing her friend find love.
“I really care for Brooke and I want her to find love, and I can’t be mad or upset that it’s not with me. Brooke needs to follow her heart and she did that. How can I be upset or angry it wasn’t me?
“I’m happy for her, genuinely, from the bottom of my heart. That’s all I want for her. I’m sad that it’s not with me, but that’s just how the cookie crumbles and I can’t hold that against her. I can only be happy for her.”
Despite things not going her way, Jamie-Lee admitted she was still happy she made it to the finale, allowing her connection with Brooke every chance to be the one that flourished at the end.
“I don’t think Brooke would have brought me to the finale if she didn’t have serious feelings for me,” Jamie-Lee added.
“I think that the reason I came into this is because I knew there was something really special between us and, I honestly believe that it was a really difficult decision for Brooke.
“I’m not upset that she brought me [to the finale], I think that goes to show that I wasn’t dreaming it all. It was reciprocated.
“I’m really proud of how things turned out,” Jamie-Lee said of the season, “and I feel so honoured and blessed to be part of it. I wouldn’t do a thing differently.”
Even though she has known how the story ends for her, watching the series back has been strangely great for Jamie-Lee.
“It’s really nice to see Brooke’s little love journey. I’m their biggest supporter… which I know is a weird way to look at it but I really am. I want the best for her, I always have.
Now that this chapter is closed for Jamie-Lee, she’s ready to get her life back.
“I don’t know what’s next for me, but I’m really excited for the next chapter and to hopefully meet someone special.”