Helene reveals how Aaron broke their engagement

Let’s hope ”The Bachelorette”’s Trista and Ryan have better luck than the two couples who came together last year on ABC’s ”The Bachelor,” both of whom have split up. The formerly betrothed Aaron Buerge and Helene Eksterowicz are scheduled to sift through the aftermath Thursday night in an ABC special called, ”The Bachelor: Aaron and Helene Tell All,” but Eksterowicz gave a preview in the upcoming issue of People magazine, where she revealed that Buerge dumped her five weeks after America watched him pop the question last November.

In fact, they had become engaged during the taping in September but had to keep their romance secret for the two months until the broadcast aired, which put a strain on their romance, she said. They ”tried to talk every day on the phone, but it was too hard.” Finally, they met in secret in Toronto, where she caught him ogling another woman. ”I gave him back the ring and told him, ‘If you’re serious about this, you shouldn’t be looking at other girls,”’ she told People.

Once the finale finally aired, she said, ”I was just so relieved to have all this over so we could see each other as much as we wanted.” Aaron even proposed to her again as they watched the moment on TV together. But five weeks later, he took her to a Starbucks near her New Jersey home and told her he was no longer ”emotionally invested” in their relationship. ” It felt like a bomb dropped,” she recalled. ”I said, ‘I feel very deceived by you. You’ve told me every single day that you love me, and now this is it?”’

Aaron, who broke the news of the broken engagement to the magazine two weeks ago, told People, ”It was just the best decision for both of us.” Helene disagreed, telling him she was prepared to move to Springfield, Mo., to live with him. ”I said, ‘I think you’re making a big mistake. I was in this for the right reasons. I would have done anything for you.”’ She’s not giving back the ring, however; she’s keeping the 2-carat diamond ring (which Aaron paid for, refusing to let ABC spring for it) in a safe-deposit box.