"I do think she made the right decision in the end," Peter Kraus tells PEOPLE

The Bachelorette EXCLUSIVE! Rachel Lindsay opens up about how she knew Bryan Abasolo was “the one” despite her love for Peter Kraus. Subscribe now for an inside look at their plans to wed — and have many kids — only in PEOPLE!

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On Monday night’s Bachelorette finale, the 31-year-old Wisconsin native expressed his love for Lindsay, but admitted he was not ready to propose. Though he offered to propose to Lindsay in order to maintain the relationship, they both knew his heart wouldn’t have been in the right place.

“Relationships are all about sacrifice,” Kraus tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “She and I had been having a conversation/borderline argument for about three hours. I knew it was not going to end the way that I wanted. I knew the only way to keep her was to give her what it was that she was looking for. I decided that I would sacrifice my beliefs in order to prove to her that I was in love with her.”

He continues, “It was too little, too late. She knew that it wasn’t where my heart was at the time. I think we probably would’ve resented each other for it if she had agreed. I do think she made the right decision in the end.”

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During the live broadcast of the finale, Kraus and Lindsay came face to face a couple months after that emotional breakup. And though they both wished each other well, the tension was evident.

“I’m shaking like a leaf right now, I’m terrified. This is hard,” Kraus admitted when he joined Lindsay on the couch.

RELATED VIDEO: Caila Quinn, Olivia Caridi & Brandi Cyrus Recap The Drama Of ‘The Bachelorette’ Finale

Speaking to their breakup, Lindsay said, “It was really, really frustrating.”

“I was confused in that moment. I didn’t understand how you could come that far … so I was confused as to why you were … planning this future with me,” she explained to him.

Talking to PEOPLE, Lindsay says Kraus reminded her of a previous relationship — a relationship that wasn’t going to go anywhere.

For more on Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay’s engagement to Bryan Abasolo, including their thoughts on their big debut and plan for the future, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

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“With Peter, I constantly got this push and this pull,” she say. “What I hate so much is that it seems like the reason that Peter wasn’t the one for me is due to the proposal, and I think that it became such a big issue because that’s what happens at the end of this, but there were other deep-rooted issues in my relationship with him.”

Watch People Cover Story – Bachelorette Finale: Rachel Lindsay, available now, on the new People/Entertainment Weekly Network (PEN). Go to PEOPLE.com/PEN, or download the PEN app on your favorite mobile or connected TV device.