Peter Weber and Kelley Flanagan have stiff competition for the most dramatic breakup in Bachelor Nation, but it’s safe to say their split is the only one that includes Pokémon cards.
The season 24 Bachelor met the Chicago-based attorney shortly before filming for his season of the ABC series began in September 2019. After hitting it off during their brief encounter, Flanagan was one of the contestants competing for the pilot’s heart. In the end, she was sent home before the hometown dates. Both Weber and Flanagan have suggested that she wasn’t given a fair shot with production.
“The first couple of weeks I saw him look at me differently compared to when we got on our one-on-one and I could tell 100 percent that like producers were in his head,” she said on the “Almost Famous” podcast in April 2020. “Because on the one-on-one, nothing happened between us but he had this, like, demeanor toward me that was so pissed off and I was looking at him, like, ‘What the hell were you told?’ because nothing happened here for you to have this attitude. And so right then and there, I knew something was going on behind the scenes, and I was like, ‘This is bulls–t’. … Things were getting in his head that he wasn’t able to make his own decision and it just kind of pissed me off.”
During an appearance on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast in April 2021, Weber acknowledged that he started “getting less and less and less” time with her on the show.
“On our one-on-one in Costa Rica, we had, like, two seconds of off-camera time, off-mic time. We were walking in this hot tub, like, in this waterfall thing and I had heard that she wasn’t necessarily cooperating the best with production and I’m like, ‘Listen, just trust me to do what they’re saying, like, I want to see more and want to spend more time with you and they’re not letting that happen. So you just got to make them happy so you know we can give this a shot,'” he said. “I don’t think she got the fairest chance or whatnot on the show if I’m being honest. And I think production would say the exact same thing.”
Despite not ending up together on the series — he proposed to Hannah Ann Sluss during the finale but broke things off while the show was airing because he had unresolved feelings for runner-up Madison Prewett — Weber and Flanagan reconnected post-show and started dating in April 2020.
After announcing plans to move to New York City together in early 2021, Weber revealed on New Year’s Eve that the duo split.
“I’m here to share that Kelley and I have decided to go our separate ways,” he wrote in December 2020. “While our relationship was filled with countless beautiful memories, our relationship simply didn’t work out in the end. Kelley is someone I will always have a special love for. Someone I have learned more from than she will ever understand. Someone I am so thankful came into my life and someone who I will always wish all of life’s greatest blessings on. These moments in life always hurt, but in my opinion that shows you it was worth the time you spent together. Thank you Kelley.”
Flanagan waited four days to address the split (keep scrolling for why).
“It saddens me to say this but Peter and I have decided to go our separate ways,” she wrote in January 2021. “Peter and I had some unbelievable times together and they will definitely be missed. Unfortunately him and I are in two different stages of our lives and saw our future paths differently. I wish Peter the absolute best and want to thank everyone for your continued support as I move on to my next chapter.”
The twosome went on to briefly reunite before making headlines for the messy back-and-forth about their breakup. Scroll through for a breakdown of their different sides of the story:
Weber and Flanagan were on rocky terms in December 2020, ultimately cutting ties around Christmas. While she claims she (and ABC) wanted the pair to announce their split in early January, Weber wanted to put their romance behind him before entering the new year. “I asked him not to do it on New Year’s and I was like, ‘Can you just give me a couple days to tell people?’ I think there was something he wanted to do [to end] 2020,” she said on the “Chicks in the Office” podcast. “We talked to ABC, you have to do all that stuff, and ABC was like, ‘Guys, try to drown it out with the premiere. Do it the day before, drown it out people will be excited about other things.’ … He had to do it in 2020.” Courtesy of Kelley Flanagan/Instagram
Flanagan told Kaitlyn Bristowe in March 2021 that Weber “essentially tried to get back together” and “was trying to work on things” in January after their split. While she was “hesitant,” the twosome saw each other at the Super Bowl in Tampa in February. “He’s telling me like, ‘I love you, I want to get back together with you,’” she said on the "Off the Vine" podcast. Courtesy of Kelley Flanagan/Instagram
Things ended for good when Flanagan traveled to NYC for Valentine’s Day in February 2021. “We had a great Valentine’s Day together. And then, again, there were just like little things. … It ended really badly,” she said three months later. “I essentially went off on him. I ended up leaving New York and going to one of my girlfriend’s houses and hanging out with her. He texted me, I didn’t respond and then found some news out that I wasn’t happy about. We still had each other on Find My Friends. … I went off and essentially said, like, ’Get the hell out of my life.’ It ended really badly.” ABC/John Fleenor; ABC/Francisco Roman
After their split, Flanagan threw shade at Weber for hanging out with her “good family friend” actress Renata Sanfilippo. She further explained the situation on “Chicks in the Office” in May 2021. “His words and actions were different. If you’re going on these podcasts and saying really nice things about me — thank for you doing that … but don’t be going and taking a really strange photo shoot with a family friend of mine and then posting a collage on Instagram,” she said. “If you really want to hang out with my family friend — knowing that we ended on really bad terms — sure, go for it. It is a little bit strange … but if you want to hang out go ahead, but why does it need to be advertised?” During his “Bachelors in the City” response that month, Weber claimed Flanagan had a friend (he didn’t name names) who alleged she wanted a “grandiose gesture” and “big public display” before she responded to the pilot’s outreach. In a May 28 YouTube video, Flanagan said Weber was referring to her astrologer. “It wasn’t my friend he reached out to see how I was doing. It was my astrologer to get his birth chart read,” she said. “He asked her for advice [like], 'How do I get in contact with her because I know she is not my biggest fan for good reasons?' … Her advice to him was, ‘A) I don’t think she’s your biggest fan and I think it’s going to have to take a big gesture.' Nothing about that was 'publicly.' Those were her words, not mine. … Then also, him reaching out to me, like, two weeks ago, no need.” Courtesy Peter Weber/Instagram
Flanagan first spoke about the “non-negotiables in the relationship” on “Off the Vine” in March 2021. “If there is something that I saw as disrespectful in a relationship, I would speak on it and I was pretty vocal. I think communication is huge in a relationship and there were things that essentially I would be like, ‘Hey look, this makes me feel like s–t, this makes me feel this way,'” she said. “There wasn’t something massive. … Within the relationship, it was fun. It was great, but there was a lot of little things.” The lawyer gave more hints at their differences that May. “You come off [the show] and you’re like, ‘Oh, some of your hobbies don’t align with mine.’ It’s not a bad thing, [but] he loves Pokémon cards and he loves playing video games and he loves going out and partying,” she told podcast hosts Maria Ciuffo and Francesca Mariano. “There was a while where I was trying to convince myself that that’s what I liked and I was like, ‘Alright, Kelley, let’s be honest with yourself. Does that add up for you?’” Weber noted on his podcast that their differences were what broke them up, but also made a point to claim Flanagan liked Pokémon cards too. “We were different in a lot of ways,” Weber expressed. “I will never apologize for liking Pokémon cards. … Maybe she was just playing along to make me happy.” ROGER WONG/INSTARimages.com; Courtesy Kelley Flanagan/Instagram
Weber told Us in April 2021 that he would “be OK” running into Flanagan in NYC after they both moved. "I would love to see her. It might be a little weird, obviously,” he said. “I honestly would love to have a friendship with Kelley if that’s ever possible, you know, if she does come to the city, that would be, in my opinion, the best-case scenario.” One month later, Flanagan said on “Chicks in the Office” that she would “just run” if they crossed paths. “He messaged me the other day and I’m just not responsive,” she noted. “There’s a lot of things that you hear, this world is very small. I even get stopped by girls in Nashville and they’re like, ‘My friend hooked up with Peter last week!’ … I’ve had that [happen] a couple of times.” ABC/John Fleenor; Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock
During his “Bachelors in the City” episode, Weber accused Flanagan of stirring the pot. "I thought it was very calculated. I thought, after hearing how it went, that it was very trying to push for a headline. Very just calculated, very disingenuous,” he said, noting that she refused to have a “private conversation” with him. Flanagan responded via a YouTube video, noting that she was “never going to let anyone speak a narrative” for her. "I just think I would have respected him more if he didn't accuse me of trying to hit headlines," she explained. "Again, he had nothing behind that to say that. That's just his opinion, I guess, which is very sad. Because if I listened to that podcast and heard all the great things he said about me I'd be like, 'Wow, he's being really mature in this situation, and I really respect him.' But it saddens me to know that that's not how he could act even after how things ended. … [It] makes me sad that it's the scenario. But it also gives me reassurance that this is how I need to draw a healthy boundary because I don't want to be associated with that." She concluded: "I think some of my answers were not liked because it didn't play along with the story line that was being portrayed. But it's my life too, and I think that I'm never going to let anyone create my narrative." ABC/Eric McCandless; Courtesy Kelley Flanagan/Instagram
"Listen, obviously there's two sides to every story, and yes, it's true that usually the truth lies a little bit, you know, in between both those sides," Weber said during an August 2021 episode of the “Tea With Publyssity” podcast. "But I said my piece, and, like, I have no desire to further that. I've moved on. I know she's moved on." He noted that despite all the drama since their breakup, he “truly wish[es] her nothing but the best” moving forward. "It was the most amazing relationship I've ever had in my life. And just because it didn't work out, doesn't mean that I think anything different of that,” Weber added. Shutterstock (2)
Flanagan once again opened up their split during a May 2022 appearance on the "Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation" podcast. "I don't think there was one specific thing that led to the downfall for me and Peter. It was just a lot of little things," she explained. "Peter and I had a lot of fun, but I don't know if I looked up to him in the way that I wanted to look up to my spouse." The Illinois native continued: "I have this with my brothers and my dad, where if I'm in a moment where I need some sound advice and look for who to go to on important decisions, but with Peter, it was just fun and games. I could have fun with him but I wanted more of a man that I look up to. I just didn't look up to Peter in the way that I always hoped I would look up to my husband." Courtesy Kelley Flanagan/Instagram; John Salangsang/Shutterstock
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