The real reason Jake wore that iconic pinky ring on The Bachelorette.

Don’t lie and say you haven’t thought at least ONCE during this whole season of The Bachelorette about Jake’s pinky ring.

The 30-year-old was rarely seen without the signature ring on the pinky finger of his right hand.

So, naturally, it was one of the first things we asked Jake when we learned he hadn't made it into Georgia's final two (besides, ARE YOU OKAY?). And we were totally unprepared for the emotional answer.

Listen to the latest episode of Bach Chat, the podcast where we talk all things Bachelorette.

"The ring has absolute priceless sentimental value to me and my family," Jake told me.

"It's actually been hard seeing a lot of the memes where people have given me a hard time about it.

"Myself, my brother and my dad, we have initials on a gold ring and that gold ring is melted down from my grandmother's gold after she passed away. My dad has had his for years and my brother and I both got our rings when we turned 21. It's got a lot of meaning, very much so."

Despite the criticism from some fans about his choice of accessory (Jake said his brother was "quite offended" by the jokes), Jake understands that everyone is entitled to their opinions.

"I found [the fan chatter] quite amusing," he said.

"I think the hardest part was seeing some of the comments about my family or when my home visit was on, or even my ring and people not knowing the full story. But that’s just their opinion, they see what they see on the show.

"The fact that they’re even talking about me is quite surreal."

See which guys are still in the competition for Georgia's heart<./em>