Kaitlyn Bristowe Says Tayshia Adams 'Was Beside Herself' Before Opening Up About Zac Clark Split

Tayshia Adams discussed her breakup on the Bachelorette Men Tell All special that aired earlier this month

Kaitlyn Bristowe is proud of Tayshia Adams for being so open about her recent split from Zac Clark.

Bachelorette alums Bristowe, 36, and Adams, 31, are co-hosting Michelle Young's season of the ABC series and during the Bachelorette: Men Tell All special earlier this month, Bristowe asked Adams about her ex-fiancé Clark, beginning by pointing out how she was no longer wearing her engagement ring.

"All in all, all I have to say is that I'm heartbroken. But we tried really hard and I still love him very much. And I'm not sure that the future holds," Adams said at the time, later walking off the stage.

On Us Weekly's Here for the Right Reasons podcast, Bristowe said that Adams "was beside herself" the day they filmed the episode in November, which was the same day the news of Adams' breakup broke.

"I'm so proud of her for being so professional and being able to show up and put a smile on her face and do a great job hosting while going through it," said Bristowe. "I know she was just really struggling that day because the news had broke and she was really upset."

ABC/Craig Sjodin

Bristowe also addressed some speculation that the moment Adams walked offset felt "staged or scripted," noting that they "didn't want to ignore" the news.

She said the show wanted to "make sure [Adams] has a voice and that she's able to talk about it and not just pretend it didn't happen or just go through the whole show when she was clearly struggling that day."

Bristowe continued, "So I was really proud of her, and it was just tough to work in because I wanted to put Tayshia's feelings first. I saw her in the trailer so upset. She was having anxiety. And I was like, 'We don't have to address this if you don't want to. But I think if you want to have your own voice and be able to, like, just share how you're feeling, it's up to you.' "

"She wanted to address it, so we had to put it in there somewhere. And, honestly, I was just really proud of how she handled everything because it felt like a true professional," the former Bachelorette concluded.

RELATED GALLERY: Looking Back on Tayshia Adams & Zac Clarks' Romance

Tayshia Adams and Zac Clark. David Becker/Getty

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Adams and Clark, 37, got engaged during her Bachelorette season last year. However, on Nov. 22, a rep for Adams confirmed to PEOPLE that the pair "are no longer a couple."

Last month, a source told PEOPLE that those close to Adams and Clark "didn't see them getting to a wedding."

"At the end of the day, they're very different people," the source said. "They're both good people — she's amazing and he's a great guy and very passionate about his work. But they're a total mismatch."