On Tuesday, April 6, Martin, 25, talked to fellow Bachelor alums Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti about how she ended up joining the other women at Nemacolin after Matt James’ search for a fiancée had already started.

Martin said she never met James, 29, in person before going on the show, but had spoken to him on FaceTime while hanging out with mutual friend and season 15 Bachelorette Hannah Brown. By the time she was ready to arrange a meeting, the former NFL player had already begun filming his season. At that point, Martin contacted the show’s producers to find out if anything could happen.

“I was absolutely terrified,” she said on “The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast” on Tuesday. “I knew it wasn’t going to be open arms welcoming me in.”

Though producers advised her on when to arrive, Martin said that she booked her own red-eye flight to Pittsburgh and rented the infamous minivan that she drove to the resort.

“It’s really not my natural personality to do this kind of thing,” she said of her big gesture, adding that she didn’t know that the crew planned on filming the van.

Higgins, 32, and Iaconetti, 33, also asked Martin if she thought she had been intentionally edited out of the “Women Tell All” special. She was visible on set in photos from the episode, but host Chris Harrison did not introduce her and she did not speak during the show.

“I don’t know what I’m allowed to say these days,” the reality star responded after a brief hesitation. “You can just say that,” Higgins replied. “You can just end that there, we’ll make our assumptions.”

Asked if she’d ever join Bachelor in Paradise, Martin told the cohosts she doesn’t think so. “I don’t think that’s the show for me for multiple different reasons,” she said, adding that she doesn’t think she’ll change her mind as other BiP naysayers have done.

As for her relationship with James, the California native confirmed that she is not dating him and has not seen him since filming the show. “I think he has a lot going on in his life,” said Martin, who first appeared in Colton Underwood’s Bachelor season. “He’s going through a ton. I can’t even imagine.”

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Eliza Thompson