Jason Tartick Says He Turned Down Chance to Propose to Kaitlyn Bristowe on Bachelor: GOAT

"I shot it down after about a day of thinking," said Jason Tartick of choosing not to propose on Monday's recap episode of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever!

When presented with the opportunity, Jason Tartick opted against a televised proposal to girlfriend Kaitlyn Bristowe.

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Tartick, 31, said that producers approached him about getting down on one knee and popping the question to the former Bachelorette, 34, on Monday's episode of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever! (aka GOAT).

"They actually came to me asking me if I'd like to take this opportunity to propose," he said, adding that there wasn't any "pressure" from the team. "I shot it down after about a day of thinking."

Tartick, who appeared on the 2018 season of The Bachelorette opposite Becca Kufrin, acknowledged that Bachelor Nation is "part of our history," but he didn't want the proposal to air during a recap of their on-screen love track record.

"We don't need these stories to align in the same showing," he said — and Bristowe apparently agreed with avoiding the proposal: "I told Kaitlyn after ... [and] she's like, 'Thank God.' "

Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick
Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick. Alexander Tamargo/Getty

"I wouldn't want that to be done either. Sorry, no way," Bristowe told ET. She also told the outlet last month that she wants a "private" proposal, but not one during the pandemic quarantine.

Bristowe first met Tartick in October 2018 when he was a guest on Bristowe’s Off the Vine podcast. This past October, the couple opened up about when they see themselves becoming engaged, telling PEOPLE that they are approaching their relationship at their own pace.

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“I think Kaitlyn and I have stuck to the rule that relentlessly under any and all costs, we’re just going to be ourselves and move at our speed, and share where we want and do what we want,” Tartick said at the time. “So when criticism does come in either way, we can stay proud of the fact that we are who we are and we want to do what we’re going to do, and we’re going to do it that way."

"And I think the same goes for our engagement and the fact that we had gone through the necessary stages that we think make sense to have a strong foundation," he explained. "We had a friendship. It turned into a relationship. We made the decision, I moved across the country to live under the same house. We adopted a dog."

He added that engagement is the "next step" in their "natural progression" — "It’s a matter of where, when and how," Tartick explained.

RELATED VIDEO: The Bachelorette's Kaitlyn Bristowe Joins Dancing with the Stars for Season 29: 'I'm So Honored'

Bristowe — who is set to hit the dance floor for the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars — added at the time that she isn't putting any pressure on Tartick to propose.

“I was talking to Jason and I’m like, ‘Somebody just sent me a message on Instagram saying, ‘Why do you put so much pressure on Jason to get engaged?’ And I’m like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa — I don’t put any pressure on him,'” she said. “It’s just that every media outlet, that’s always the next question because we come from Bachelor Nation.”

The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever! airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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