Why Sarah Wasn't At Matt James' Women Tell All Special

Despite being one of Matt James' early frontrunners, Sarah Trott didn't attend his Women Tell All special — likely for the same reason she left the show. The former journalist eliminated herself from the season in order to resume her role as a caregiver of her dad, who has ALS, after she started to feel guilty about spending so much time away from him. So far, though, she's hasn't officially said why she wasn't at the special.

Overall, filming was harder for Sarah than she imagined it would be. "A couple of people told me that I would be able to talk with family," she told Entertainment Tonight. "I thought I would be able to communicate with my parents and have access to a phone and talk with them, but some of those things turned out differently once I got there." That disconnection, plus her tumultuous relationship with the rest of the cast, ultimately fueled her decision to leave.

Sarah spent a lot of time with Matt right off the bat, especially after she nearly fainted during a rose ceremony. The other women immediately accused her of seeking attention, which Sarah later called "cruel and malicious," so there's a chance she also didn't want to face them again at WTA. "It was really tough to relive that but I'm focusing on the positive," Sarah told ET after watching her final episode. "I'm human and I sometimes think we forget about that. We see people, characters on TV, and we forget that they're dealing with really heavy things sometimes and you truly never know what somebody's going through."

After her departure, Sarah started a Facebook support group for caregivers called Sarah's Caregiver Community and has continued to release episodes of her From Here to Where podcast, which was inspired by her decision to leave full-time work and take care of her dad. Right now, her main focus is raising awareness and finding a cure for ALS. On Jan. 17, she shared an Instagram photo with her dad front and center. The caption read: "Family first, always."