Courtesy/ABC

The Bachelorette’s ‘first impression rose’ recipient, Garrett Yrigoyen, took to his new Instagram account, offering a lengthy statement, and an apology to those he offended, after his political beliefs and his character were called into question when screengrabs of his former Instagram account were shared on social media from a former Bachelor contestant.  The images that were ‘liked’ by Yrigoyen, who is a medical rep from Nevada, mocked undocumented immigrants, the trans community, liberal feminists, and a negative post on Parkland, Florida shooting survivor, David Hogg.

In his message, Yrigoyen said,  “I am sorry to those who I offended and I also take full responsibility for my ‘likes’ on Instagram that were hurtful and offensive.”  Regarding his old account, he stated, “I decided to take it down and start fresh, because I have learned an extremely valuable lesson and am taking steps to grow, become more educated, and be a better version of myself.”

Garrett also added, “I am not perfect, and I will never be anywhere close, but now I will always be more informed and aware of what I am ‘liking’ and supporting, not just on Instagram, but in life.”  He also went on to say that he, “did not mean any harm” and added, “I am not the negative labels people are associating me with.” He finished with, “I do not want my social media to define who I am, and I will take better care moving forward to support all walks of life.”  This was the first statement since the controversy broke, which took over a week to break the silence from Garrett. The delay in any statement fueled the fire of the story even further.

However, Entertainment Tonight spoke with Becca Kufrin, the ‘Bachelorette’, who had this to say about the controversy: “People say and do certain things.  I’ve done things in the past that I’m sure it wasn’t the best thing. I can’t fault on anyone for what they believe and who’s to say that anyone is truly what they believe in if they just double tap a picture on Instagram.  I can’t speak to that, because that’s just not me. I am a strong woman and I do believe in certain things, but again, that’s what’s so great about our country — everyone is entitled to their own opinions.”

She also added, “I want viewers to be open to everyone, and I want them to go through this season with me and watch my love story unfold with all of these men … because that’s how I went into this journey.”

So, are you accepting of Garrett’s apology?  What do you think of Becca’s response? Does this seem that Becca and Garrett are actually going to end up in each other’s arms when all is said and done?  Comment below.