Despite his ex-fiancée’s claims, Bachelor Matt Grant is definitely not okay with Shayne Lamas keeping their engagement ring.
“It wasn’t a ‘gift’ so much,” the British-born financier tells PEOPLE. “It’s not a television or a handbag. It’s a symbol of marriage that didn’t happen.”
Lamas, 22, recently told PEOPLE she planned to keep the 2.85-carat Tacori platinum-and-diamond eternity ring “safe and clean and in a glass box — like a glass slipper.” She claimed Grant was fine with that, adding, “He wants to come over and look at it.”
But the star of The Bachelor: London Calling insists that conversation never took place.
“We never discussed this,” he says. “I never said it was cool to just keep it. If she said we spoke about it, she just made it up. Sometimes she thinks she can say anything and I’ll go along with it.”
Almost as soon as the final rose was presented, Grant and Lamas were dogged by rumors of romantic discord. They finally announced their split earlier this month.
Grant, 27, says he doesn’t want the ring back. But he does think Lamas — daughter of TV’s Lorenzo Lamas — should auction off the bauble for charity.
“Let’s have something good come out of this,” he explains. “Why hold onto it? What’s the point?”
Grant’s new proposal: Auction off the ring and have each donate their half of the proceeds to a favorite charity. (Grant’s pet cause is the abolition of puppy mills).
Grant says that the show’s sponsors paid for the engagement ring, which he valued at $65,000. So it’s not his money at stake.
“But at the end of the day, it was mine to give to her,” he argues. “And thus I’m like, ‘C’mon!’ I’m sure Shayne will agree it’s best going to charity.” –Bryan Alexander
Albert L. Ortega/PR Photos (2)
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