Strandburg was eliminated during the June 29 episode of the ABC dating show

The Bachelorette's Chris 'Cupcake' Strandburg Says He Laughed Watching His Emotional Exit

Chris Strandburg, the latest cast-off from Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s season of The Bachelorette, is taking his very emotional, very public breakdown on the June 29 episode of the popular ABC show in stride.

“When I watched that back, I just started laughing,” he told the hosts of Good Morning America on Monday.

Get push notifications with news, features and more.

Strandburg sobbed and wiped away tears after Bristowe eliminated him during a date over the scenic Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. The 28-year-old, who lives in Tennessee, broke down into his plaid scarf on the edge of the picture-perfect scenery.

The dentist brought the scarf in question along to Monday’s interview, joking that he takes it with him “everywhere.”

“I got a mixed reaction, a lot of people were really supportive, a lot of people were laughing – I was one of them,” Strandburg said of response to the episode. “I really was.”

Who Does Kaitlyn Bristowe Think Should Be Next Year’s Bachelor?

The former model, who earned his nickname after riding into the season’s first episode in a cupcake-shaped car, said he wanted to combat dentist stereotypes from the get-go.

“That first night you really want to make sure you stand out. Normally when people think of the dentist, they don’t think about fun,” he said on Good Morning America. “And so I wanted to make sure that ‘Girls, I have a personality, you know I’m fun, I don’t take myself too seriously.’ So I wanted to do it in the most extreme way I could.”

Strandburg, who says his nickname has stuck “very hard,” only had kind words to say about Bristowe and insisted that his emotional reaction was authentic.

“In this experience you make yourself really vulnerable, so you can actually have meaningful conversations, you don’t have small talk, so you connect with somebody really quickly,” he said. “So, I did feel genuine emotion, I was feeling sad, but at the same time I was laughing, too.”

Bristowe echoed Strandburg’s sweet sentiments in her exclusive Bachelorette blog: “Watching him cry broke my heart. That was a tough day,” she wrote.

Despite reliving the traumatic experience, Strandburg Tweeted that he enjoyed his GMA visit.

“Had an awesome time on Good Morning America! Later time zones be sure to watch!”