‘She was herself the whole time’: Cache Valley parents reflect on daughter’s journey on The Bachelor

LOGAN — Long before she became a finalist on Season 29 of The Bachelor on ABC, Litia Garr knew where she stood on her personal values—including her religious beliefs. And even as cameras rolled and romance blossomed, her convictions never wavered.

“She was very upfront with him,” said her mother, Maurie Garr. “She told him she wasn’t going to spend the night. That was just not who she was.”

Litia, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, made her boundaries clear from early on during the show and did not waver when remaining contestants are typically invited to spend the night with the show’s lead in the “Fantasy Suite.” 

“She said, ‘That’s not something I’m comfortable with,’ and he respected it,” Maurie said.

For her parents—Rob and Maurie Garr of Providence—the decision was no surprise. They raised Litia with a strong foundation, and say she’s always carried those beliefs with her, regardless of the setting.

“She’s always been like that,” Rob said. “It’s who she is.”

Litia in the Limelight

Litia’s journey to The Bachelor started on a whim. She and a friend submitted applications just for fun, never expecting it to go further. But within days, the producers called, and things moved quickly.

“She didn’t have a whole lot of time to prepare,” Maurie said. “She had to get her stuff together really quickly. And she was kind of shell-shocked. She was shocked she got picked.”

Rob recalled, “It was so fast. I was like, ‘What? You’re on the show?’”

The experience soon took over the Garr family’s world. Litia advanced through the early episodes, made a national impression during a FaceTime call, and ultimately reached the final two.

A Surprising Call—and a Familiar Face

The FaceTime call came during a one-on-one date between Litia and Bachelor Grant Ellis. It was a spontaneous, filmed moment that aired early in the season.

“The producer asked me if they could call me,” Maurie explains. “I thought it was going to be Litia’s homesick, she just wants to talk to me, maybe get a pep talk. Maybe she wants to come home, maybe she’s decided she doesn’t like him. Like, I had no idea but then a couple hours later she said ‘we’re gonna film the call.’”

“When I answered,” Maurie continues, “and I saw her and Grant both on the phone, and I just was like, ‘oh, how are you guys doing?’”

Maurie appeared on screen briefly. The call was short, but it offered a national introduction to the Garr family and hinted at the close bond between Litia and her mother.

Maurie said both Litia and Grant were emotional on the call. She said Grant praised Litia and her relationship with her mother. 

“I wish I had recorded it, ’cause there was some stuff that was said on there that’s been a controversy, actually.”

More on that, later.

Back on Screen in Star Valley

The family’s next appearance came later in the season during the “hometown” visits episode, which was filmed in Star Valley, Wyoming with aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces. Though Litia’s parents currently live in Cache Valley, she has never lived here. Some of Maurie’s family live in Star Valley and it has been the location of many family gatherings.

“It was really, really good to see her,” Maurie said.

The experience involved hours of filming that were ultimately condensed into just a few minutes on screen.

“They did probably two hours of interviews with my son, Jackson, another hour and a half with my son, Ethan. They probably did an hour and a half with me,” Rob said. “They did probably two hours with Maurie. And what you see on TV is one minute and 40 seconds with me, maybe three minutes with Maurie, zero time with Jackson.”

Despite the editing, they were glad to be part of it—and grateful to see their daughter again.

“She glowed. I mean, she was glowing when they showed up,” Maurie said. “They both just seemed really in love. And it was really wonderful to see her be so happy.”

Fame in Cache Valley

As the episodes finally began to be shown, the Garrs became local celebrities in Cache Valley.

“People peppered me with questions,” Rob said. “I’m not a very good liar.”

Maurie had a similar experience.

“We just had to say, ‘Watch and find out!’ because we couldn’t say anything.”

The attention extended well beyond their circle of friends.

“I had an 82-year-old patient that said, ‘Hey, I saw your daughter on The Bachelor!’” Rob said. “‘Yeah, I have daughters, I have granddaughters.’ It’s funny how many people that you would never think watch it that didn’t know.”

Even their son, currently serving a mission in Brazil, began hearing from people.

“People made the connection and the word got down to Brazil that his sister was on The Bachelor,” Maurie said.

Holding to Her Faith

One of the most meaningful moments for the Garr family came when they watched how Litia stood by her religious beliefs.

“She told him from the get-go that she was going to be very true to her religion,” Maurie said. “And he totally respected it.”

There was no dramatic confrontation, no argument—just a conversation grounded in mutual respect.

“He said, ‘I totally respect that,’” Maurie said. “And he did.”

There were a number of occasions on the show when Litia and Grant had conversations about faith and her membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And it became a topic of discussion during the interviews with Rob and Maurie during the home visit.

“We wanted to make sure he knew that we would love and accept him for who he was,” Maurie explained, “that him being a member or not a member of our faith was not a determining factor whether (or not) we would accept him into our family.”

The Final Goodbye – No Final Rose

Litia’s journey ended in the Dominican Republic, where the final rose ceremony was filmed. She wasn’t chosen, despite multiple expressions from Grant about how much he loved Litia and routinely granted her the first rose at rose ceremonies.

“It was a complete shock, I’ll be honest,” exclaimed Maurie about Litia not being chosen in the end. “I had talked to her several times that week and the night before after they’d gone on their date and she said ‘I’m getting engaged tomorrow!’ That is what she thought according to what he had told her.”

She came to Cache Valley to spend several weeks with her parents, recovering from food poisoning and a broken heart, before returning to work and carrying on with her life.

Litia’s experience in the Dominican Republic ended on October 31 but episodes did not begin to air until late January.

“She had no contact with him after the show,” Maurie said. When they met again at the live finale taping, it was the first time she had seen Grant since the breakup.

“She was just anxious to get it over with and say what she needed to say so she could move on,” Maurie said.

“She handled herself very well,” Rob added. “It was impressive.”

They attended the finale in person with their son Jackson and watched as their daughter spoke calmly and confidently on stage.

“We were just glad it was over,” Rob said.

Life After the Final Rose

Since the show aired, the Garrs have continued to hear from friends, neighbors, and strangers around Utah—and beyond.

“People that I work with, people at church, people that I never thought would be interested in the show have said, ‘Hey, we saw you on TV!’” Rob said.

Maurie shared that even people who had never watched the show tuned in this time. “Some people were like, ‘We’ve never watched the show before, but we tuned in for your daughter.’”

The show’s producers have kept in touch with Litia, as there have been a number of occasions with the television franchise to have the finalist who was not chosen be the series lead for a future season.

Currently, no decisions have been made about future appearances.

“It has been presented to her,” Maurie said. “She has considered it. As of right now nothing is moving forward with it.”

A Reflection of Character

The experience has also presented a lot of emotional challenges as Litia has been the target of negative social media comments and untruths being spread.

“Most people that watch it don’t realize that these people are pretty attached,” Rob added. “She really was blindsided when that happened. It’s hard for her to read all those negative comments…people specifically going to her Instagram page just to insult her and things like that, so that’s tough. But then there’s been an outpouring of love as well and lots of people that have supported her and said, ‘thank you for standing up for women. I thought you did a great job; you were strong.'”

The most challenging aspect of the experience for Maurie has been monitoring comments from the other participants on the program.

“The hardest part is the untrue things that are being said,” she explained. “And honestly, by those who actually know the truth, you know?”

“There’s no question of what went down,” she added. “I think that’s the most hurtful thing. Yeah, you can dump me and we can be done, but then don’t go and try to change the story about what actually happened so that I looked dumb or bad. I know what happened.”

Through all of it, Rob and Maurie say they’ve been proud—not because their daughter was on television, but because of the way she carried herself through an emotionally demanding and very public experience.

“She’s grown from it,” Maurie said. “She’s had to think about what she really wants.”

Rob added, “We were proud of how she did and thought that we had a fair edit.”

They say Litia is moving on with her life and she will keep dating and finding someone. Potential suitors should now know her values, her personality and what she stands for.

And maybe we haven’t seen the last of Litia Garr.

The full audio of the interview with Rob and Maurie Garr will air on KVNU’s For the People program Monday afternoon at 5:10 p.m.