Grant Stands by His Decision—Says He Chose Juliana Over Litia for ‘Fun’

Grant Ellis had a few things to answer for during the season 29 finale of The Bachelor, including a comment he made when comparing his finalists, Juliana Pasquarosa and Litia Garr.

“There’s love on both sides, but [it’s hard] deciding what to pick in such a short amount of time when I have a woman [Litia] who’s 31 who knows what she wants and would be there for me no matter what,” Grant, 31, told his father during the Monday, March 24, finale. “And I have a woman [Juliana] who also loves me, but our relationship is more fun.”

In the end, Grant picked Juliana, 28, and some viewers — who saw Grant seemingly agree with Litia during conversations about her hopes to have kids in two years — took issue with his wording.

“Sooo Litia can’t be a 30 year old that knows what’s [sic] she wants and be fun? Litia is too mature for Grant. #TheBachelor,” one fan wrote.

Another added, “You have ‘a woman who knows what she wants and one who’s [sic] relationship is more fun’ ??? grant you’re not serious .. you don’t want to get married #TheBachelor.”

“It’s so obvious that Grant chose Juliana because, despite coming on the bachelor, he’s not actually ready for marriage but wants a girlfriend,” a third added.

A fourth joked, “Grant: Litia knows what she wants, she supports me, and I love her. …but Julianna really likes my tattoo #TheBachelor.”

Us Weekly asked Grant what he meant during an exclusive joint interview with Juliana on Tuesday, March 25.

“I’m very serious. But everybody is different in a relationship. Some people are more serious and they don’t like to go out. Some people like to have fun. I think that in a relationship, you can be serious and have the best of both worlds — that’s what I meant,” he said. “Our relationship is a friendship. It’s fun in the fact that we can let loose and be ourselves.”

Juliana said she would describe their romance as “easygoing,” which Grant agreed with.

“Just because I said that doesn’t mean that I’m not serious. I’ve got tattoos, I like to have fun, but I take love very seriously,” he said. “I poured my heart out there and that showed, and if people can’t see that, then they’re never gonna see it.”