Chris Strandburg made his mark on this season’s “The Bachelorette” by arriving in a cupcake and left his mark by sobbing uncontrollably when told he would be leaving the show.
Now the Nashville dentist says the cupcake was just for attention but the sobbing was all real, sort of.
“When I watched it back, I agree it looks like I’m acting but it’s because I am laughing at myself while I’m crying so when you mix those things together it kind of looks like that,” Strandburg said today on “Good Morning America.”
'Bachelorette' Sneak Peek: Shawn Calls Out Nick 'Bachelorette' Kaitlyn Bristowe Defends Chris 'Cupcake'“I was feeling sad but, at the same time, I was laughing too,” said Strandburg, known on the show as “Chris Cupcake.” “On the ground, I was like, ‘This is ridiculous.’ It all hit me at once.”
Strandburg had just been told by “Bachelorette” Kaitlyn Bristowe that her “heart is elsewhere” after the two enjoyed a picturesque one-on-one date in Ireland.
Strandburg says he and Bristowe “never had a bad moment together” which left him shocked that he was being sent home.
“In this experience you make yourself really vulnerable and so you can actually have meaningful conversations. You don’t have small talk so you connect with somebody really quickly so I did feel genuine emotion,” Strandburg said. “…We had awesome conversations and I was like, ‘Oh yeah. I got this. We have a great connection.’“
Strandburg says he got a “mixed reaction” of support and laughter after his meltdown aired on June 29. One supporter he particularly appreciated chiming in was Bristowe herself, who took to social media to call Strandburg “one of a kind.”
“I really appreciated that,” he said. “I think it shows that we did have a really strong connection.”
As for the cupcake that Strandburg showed up in the first night Bristowe met her suitors, the dentist says he just had to stand out.
“Normally when people think of the dentist they don’t think about fun and so I wanted to make sure that girls [know] I have a personality, you know, I’m fun,” he said. “I don’t take myself too seriously so I wanted to do it in the most extreme way I could.”