No pain, no gain.
Nearly two years after getting her heart broken on “The Bachelor,” Madison Prewett has found the silver lining to her “torturous” breakup with Season 24 lead Peter Weber.
“In moments of pressure, in moments I felt attacked or when I felt hurt or when I felt pain, I think it was taking a step back and realizing I am part of something so much bigger than me,” the franchise alum, 25, exclusively told Page Six in a new interview while discussing her faith-focused memoir, “Made for This Moment: Standing Firm with Grace, Strength and Courage.”
“If that’s truly what I believe, then I have to live that out even in the hardest moments when tens of millions of people are watching and my character and my faith and my convictions and beliefs are being attacked,” she continued, referencing her tense interactions with Weber and his mother, Barbara, during the “After the Final Rose” special.
As viewers will recall, Barbara came for Prewett during a conversation moderated by former host Chris Harrison, alleging that the contestant was unwilling to “compromise” herself to make a relationship with her son work.
Prewett then reminded Barbara that it wasn’t “just Peter’s journey” as she was also in search of a spouse.
“I totally understand, as a mother, you are going to obviously be thinking about Peter. But also, this isn’t just Peter choosing me,” she confidently stated at the time, causing the live audience to erupt in applause. “This is me choosing Peter.”
Though it was tough to stand up to Weber’s mom, Prewett felt it was important to speak her mind in that moment.
“There’s a cost for every single one of us when we stay true to ourselves and when we stand firm in our beliefs against people who don’t understand it or who don’t like it,” she said. “The cost is worth it because I get to walk in my purpose.”
Prewett, a proud Christian, told Weber, 30, that she was saving herself for marriage early on in the season. But when she learned that the pilot had been intimate with his other finalists during Fantasy Suites week, she walked away — a trying experience she recounts in “Made for This Moment.”
“That was probably one of the hardest, lowest, darkest, loneliest moments of my life. That week was torturous, honestly. Without being able to go into full detail about everything that that week really entailed, it was just torment,” she said.
“You’re having these very deep, loving feelings for this person while also, at the same time, knowing that they are physically exploring their relationship with another person or other people.”
Weber ended up calling off his engagement to final rose recipient Hannah Ann Sluss. Soon after, he and Prewett made a plan to reignite their romance. However, the pair ultimately parted ways once again over fundamental differences.
“It was a difficult position for the both of us to be in, and I understood that,” Prewett explained. “But at the same time, I had to stay true to myself and I had to keep my standards high and be unwilling to compromise on what I need and what I want in a relationship and, ultimately, in a marriage.”
Asked if she and Weber may have lasted had they received the first of three Fantasy Suite dates — potentially curtailing his physical relations with Sluss, 25, and runner-up Victoria Fuller — Prewett told us she has let go of any what-ifs.
“I do think there probably would have been a little bit of a difference had I had the first date. But at the same time, that’s a toss-up game. We don’t really know,” she said. “At the end of the day, it is what it is and it all happened the way that it was supposed to.”
According to Prewett, she hasn’t spoken to Weber since releasing her debut tome last month — but is hopeful that he’d be inspired by her words.
“I don’t know what’s going on in his mind. I do know we were on great terms [when we split] and I’ve wanted nothing but the best for him,” she said. “I hope that if he were to read it that he would feel encouraged by the message. I don’t speak a negative thing about him or even his family, even in the moments where I felt attacked.”
Prewett elaborated, “I’ve learned from those moments and have grown from those moments. I don’t look back on my relationship, at all, and have anything but just a heart of gratitude.”
Weber recently confirmed to Page Six that he hasn’t read Prewett’s book but supports her literary endeavors nonetheless.
“I’ve got nothing but great things to say about her,” he told us, adding that he is “super stoked” for his ex. “She’s always carried herself in the best way possible. I’m excited to see all her success that she’s accomplished.”