'Bachelorette' runner-up Peter Kraus says he was 'the best fit' for Rachel Lindsay

— -- Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay got engaged to Bryan Abasolo in the finale of the ABC reality show, but runner-up Peter Kraus doesn't necessarily believe that the newly-engaged couple was meant to be.

Prior to Abasolo's proposal, Kraus and Lindsay had a tearful break-up, which was caused, at least in part, by the Wisconsin native's reluctance to propose at the end of the show.

Kraus told reporters in a press call on Tuesday that it's "tough" for him to say whether he could have been her first choice.

"I felt throughout the entire process that I was the best fit with Rachel. She and I's [sic] connection was something very special from the very first date and unlike anything I've ever really experienced in my own life. And I felt like it was reciprocated," he added. "I didn't really concern myself with the other guys' relationships as far as their inner workings, but I did feel like ours was a bit above the rest. And had I been ready at the end, I don't think she would've gone a different direction."

Lindsay, 32, had a different take, however. When asked on Tuesday about her relationship with Kraus, 31, she said that ultimately, she realized that they had "deep-rooted issues" that caused her to think twice about whether she wanted to marry him.

"I mean, I've been very open that I want someone who knows who he is, knows what he wants and where he's going. And the more I peeled back the layers with Peter, I realized that he wasn't that person," she said. "I think the proposal became such a focal point because that's what happens at the end of the show, but that was not the reason that I didn't -- or I decided not to -- choose Peter."

Kraus disagreed with that assessment. When pressed about Lindsay's comments, he admitted that he was "confused" by what she meant.

"That hurt because that felt like she was -- I don't know, reaching for certain things," he said. "I don't think we had any deep-rooted issues. I think we literally were just on two different points of a path at that point, both heading in the same direction but at different rates. And, yes, that hurt."