Becca Reveals What Was Really Going Through Her Head When She Got To 'Paradise' – EXCLUSIVE

When Bachelor in Paradise begins each summer, we can usually rely on getting a break from the lead and his or her self-doubt in favor of entertainment from the franchise contestants who inspire gold-star tweets. Such wasn't the case on Season 5 of Paradise when Season 14 Bachelorette Becca Kufrin stopped by to soothe Colton Underwood's insecurities about pursuing a relationship with Tia Booth. Becca and Colton's Paradise conversation was unprecedented, but Becca just spilled that her heartfelt chat with the new Bachelor was far from what she was expecting when visiting Mexico.

At Sleep Number's recent Under the Mistletoe event in New York City, Becca appeared alongside Bachelorette fiancé Garrett Yrigoyen and Bachelor married couple Sean and Catherine Lowe to ring in the holidays. Although she had her first Christmas with Garrett on her mind, the Minnesota native also opened up about that surprise Paradise role. While her arrival prompted other contestants' speculation about Colton's feelings for Becca, the leading lady managed to dial down Colton's confusing state of being torn between Becca and her fellow Bachelor contestant Tia.

"I went into Paradise thinking I was going to be reading a date card, so I had no idea what I was going to be doing," she says in an exclusive interview with Elite Daily. "But Colton and I, we left on great terms and we had talked since then and had a good friendship, so to see him down and sad, especially when him and Garrett were so close, I was like, ‘Look, take every day day by day, don’t freak out, and just do what’s right for you.’

"I think the main thing with him that day freaking out was just [that] he felt like he was constantly defending his relationship, whether it was with me or with Tia," Becca explains. "So I was like, ‘Look, ours is in the past, move on, if you guys want to make it work, you will. If not, don’t force anything.' I think I was just talking to him like I would any friend."

Colton ultimately walked away from a Paradise relationship with Tia, leading to his current role as the Bachelor. The former NFL player's indecisiveness prior to the breakup didn't exactly put him in fans' good graces, but seeing as any Bachelor lead will face a challenging path, even viewers' favorite contestants may find themselves in an unflattering light as leads. Despite what Colton may experience during his upcoming season, Becca's Paradise advice still applies. "He knows what’s right for him and his relationship," she says, "and so everyone’s gonna have their two cents, but if he can just focus on him and the relationship, that’s all that matters."

While Colton will likely spend his holidays keeping season spoilers from his hometown friends and answering any concerned relatives' questions, Becca is preparing for Christmas with her new fiancé Garrett. In recent weeks, the couple have ice skated together and have plans to drive through a neighborhood of elaborate Christmas lights when visiting Garrett's home in Reno. "One thing that we started doing a little bit on some of our travels is picking out ornaments," she shares. "So we went to Boston for the first time together and we got a cute little Paul Revere ornament and a couple other ones that we’ll just keep adding to the tree."

If he did propose to a woman at the end of Bachelor filming, Colton's Christmas season will also likely include weekends secretly tucked away in a house with his Final Rose pick. Franchise couples are in this limbo until their season finale airs, but like the cool big sister Becca seems to have become for Colton, she recommends valuing the time away from the real world. "Just know that it’s not going to last forever," Becca says. "It seems like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is gonna go on'... but it’ll go by fast. And then he’ll look back and miss those quiet moments."

Can we keep our fingers crossed for Becca to visit Colton's season and drop some more advice? Season 23 of The Bachelor premieres on Monday, Jan. 7, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.