Peter Weber Fires Back at 'Bachelor' Producer's Memoir Claims

What happens when the confidant becomes the storyteller? Former Bachelor star Peter Weber is breaking his silence after a producer from his season detailed their private moments in a new memoir.

According to TMZ, Weber has responded to claims made by former producer Julie LaPlaca in her book, stating he is "deeply disappointed she chose to publicly reveal what he says were private moments." In a statement to the outlet, Weber reflected on the irony of the situation. "I just find it ironic that Julie is coming out with a book all about finding your truth and searching for love, when the entire time I was trying to do just that on my season of 'The Bachelor,' with her as my main confidant and guide throughout the process, her actions said otherwise," he said.

Weber, while taking responsibility for his own actions, painted a picture of a vulnerable contestant isolated from the real world. "Peter says contestants are cut off from the outside world and rely heavily on producers for guidance," TMZ reports. He expressed confusion over how both LaPlaca and former host Chris Harrison could endorse the book, "adding 'I have a hard time understanding how [Chris] Harrison and Julie can both endorse this type of book when they know how badly they let me down.'"

He provided specific examples of this alleged manipulation. "For instance, Peter alleges Julie 'got into a very stern argument' with him when he was going to give contestant Hannah Ann Sluss a rose to meet his family for the hometown dates and warned him America would laugh at him." He told TMZ, "'You can imagine the confusion and the lack of self trust I felt in that moment.'"

Weber claims the interference continued. "A few weeks later, when Peter was getting ready to propose to Hannah Ann, he claims Julie and Chris 'blatantly lied' to him that she was having second thoughts 'in order to get a reaction' out of him." He says he later learned Sluss never had such doubts.

Perhaps most damning is Weber's account of a conversation with LaPlaca before the book's publication. He says he spoke with her for about 90 minutes, asking her not to include his name or details of their off-camera relationship. "'To have her laugh in my face while I was very vulnerably expressing my reasons for wanting to be left out of this book was unforgivable. (And yes, she knows I have the conversation recorded.),'" Weber told TMZ.

Despite the hurt, Weber struck a conciliatory note at the end of his statement, saying he is "'in a really good place'" now and hopes LaPlaca "'finds the love that we all deserve.'" The claims in LaPlaca's memoir about a hookup with Weber have not been independently verified by The Screen Report.