Her decision. Jacqueline Trumbull opened up about what made her want to cancel her wedding to Paul Seli.
“I realized we had irresolvable incompatibilities. I love him and want him to find happiness with someone who is more right for him,” the Bachelor season 22 contestant, 31, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, August 4. “Much of our relationship was wonderful and I will always be rooting for him on the sidelines.”
Earlier this month, Trumbull took to social media to announce that she was no longer planning to walk down the aisle.
“A deep thank you to all my wonderful friends and family – and even my advisor! – for coming out to Portugal even though I chose to not get married and end my relationship,” she wrote on Wednesday, August 3, via Instagram. “Almost all my wedding guests came out and showered me with love and support. It was an incredibly moving week. I’ll never forget the kindness of my friends during such a difficult time.”
The former ABC contestant continued: “It was also beautiful to see all these people I’d known separately fall in love with each other. I have the most brilliant, funny, thoughtful friends and family who made what could have been a terrible memory into one of love and joy.”
Ahead of her post, Trumbull hinted that she didn’t follow through with her July nuptials with Seli. “Throwback to Sintra, Portugal, where things were supposed to go differently. My life would be very different now if Sintra had gone according to plan,” she explained via an Instagram post on Monday, August 1. “I’ve often found greater happiness through thwarting plans and knowing when to step off the path.”
After one social media user questioned what led to the decision, Trumbull refused to provide further details. “I have no desire to hurt him or air dirty laundry,” she wrote.
Trumbull originally competed for Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s heart on The Bachelor in 2018 before finding love with Seil. Following two years of dating, the West Virginia native announced that she was engaged to the Duke professor.
“Paul pulled off the most amazing proposal!!!! I am in San Ramon, CA freezing my eggs again with Caroline [Lunny] (and I thought Kendall [Long]; we are also filming a documentary on egg freezing.) On Friday, I thought we were going to an art gallery to film some b roll, which made sense because I’m doing a painting for the documentary. Then, he walks out from around a corner and proposes,” she gushed in a lengthy Instagram post in December 2021. “I’m floored (he’s supposed to be in Durham, and he is SUCH A GOOD LIAR he really had me thinking he was going to propose in January in Durham.) As you can see [in the photo], the painting is of a proposal and he made that for us to keep for the rest of our lives 🥰.”
Seil, for his part, also addressed Trumbull’s decision to end their relationship, writing via Instagram, “When your ex calls off your wedding two weeks before and you don’t want to waste a good canvas that’s symbolic of your love for her.”
With reporting by Diana Cooper
