It’s official, Bachelor Nation: The Tia Booth/Colton Underwood chapter is closed.
On Tuesday, ABC revealed that the former NFL player has been cast as the franchise’s next leading man — but don’t expect Booth to be vying for his rose this time around.
“Congratulations @Colt3FIVE, I hope your season is full of protein powder, puppies, and naps!” she tweeted after the announcement before adding: “And NO I will NOT be a contestant on Colton’s season. Lord bless.”
As fans know, Underwood, 26, and Booth, 27, have quite the history. They met and briefly dated while he was in the casting process for Becca Kufrin‘s season of The Bachelorette, a revelation that made waves on-air. (Kufrin and Booth, who met while competing on Arie Luyendyk Jr.‘s season of The Bachelor, are good friends.)
After Kufrin sent him home, Underwood entered a perplexing “will they or won’t they” relationship with Booth on Bachelor in Paradise this summer. Ultimately, Underwood broke things off on Monday’s episode and left Paradise alone.
Now, Booth and Underwood have both moved on.
“Never ever regret following your heart,” Booth wrote on Instagram after their breakup aired. “Things may not always work out as you planned, but they always work out as they should. Thankful that this chapter of our lives has ended so new chapters can begin. I truly wish you the best, C. #peaceoutparadise#hotdogsforever #thankseleven.”
Booth also dedicated his own heartfelt Instagram post to Booth.
“Thank you for teaching me even more about myself, and most importantly, for your friendship that I know will continue far beyond Paradise,” he wrote. “Don’t settle for anything less than the world, because that’s what you deserve. Can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you and catch up on life some day, preferably over a hot dog dinner.”
Opening up exclusively to PEOPLE, Underwood said he wishes nothing but the best for his ex.
“I committed fully into that relationship and I gave it an honest to God shot,” he said. “But I woke up one morning and realized that a future wasn’t there. And it was a good thing to happen because now I can take what I learned in that relationship and apply it to future relationships. And Tia and I are in a very good place. I wish her all the best.”
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He said he remains appreciative of his past, complicated as it may be — and more than anything, he’s looking forward to what lies in store.
“This is the perfect time in my life to do this,” he said. “I’m so unbelievably happy with myself and now I can focus on finding my wife. I’m so excited to find that. My heart is 100 percent healed and I’m going to give this my all. And hopefully I’ll come out of it engaged!”
Underwood’s season of The Bachelor is expected to premiere in 2019 on ABC.
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