Alex Brown has no regrets about his actions on Love Is Blind.

In the first episode drop of season 8, fans watched as Alex, 29, developed a connection with Madison Errichiello in the pods.

The two eventually became boyfriend/girlfriend, and Madison, 28, ended things with her other connection, Mason Horacek. She then discovered Mason, 33, had been saying the same things to her and fellow participant Meg Fink. But when Madison vented to Alex in the pods about Mason’s behavior, Alex refused to speak poorly about his costar. This, in turn, upset Madison and led to the end of their relationship.

Though Alex tells PEOPLE he had a “connection right away” with Madison, he says he would not change anything about the way he reacted in the pods.

“I think it happened how it was supposed to happen. We were just on different pages, and I’m glad that it came out early on, before we took it too far and proposed and moved on to the next level,” says the commercial real estate broker. “I think if I were to go back, I would do things the same way.”

Despite only knowing Mason for a few days, Alex says: “I think Mason was unfairly targeted. He did mess up, and I think he understood that fully in the moment, that he did mess up, and I just didn’t think it was appropriate to bash him any more than he already was feeling.”

“So I was just trying to be open minded and see both sides, both perspectives, and didn’t work out,” he adds. “It was awkward in the moment, but it was good to recognize that we were not thinking the same way about the situation and we had different methods of communication. And so I’m glad it worked out that way and we kind of realized that it was not meant to be and could end it there.”

Even though his actions did lead to a breakup, Alex knows he couldn’t have handled it any other way.

“Every time, I’m going to stick up for people and have empathy. I have a very open mind. I understand why people act the way they do, and we all have a reason for acting the way we do, and we’re all trying to be the best people we can be,” he explains. “I think if you start and you come from that place of empathy, that’s how you should go about your life, at least that’s the way I do.”

“Every time I’m going to have empathy for both parties, and that’s what I tried to portray in that final date, was that I understand the perspective of both sides and I have empathy for both people, and I just think we should not be speaking negatively about anyone, because I do feel for both sides of the situation,” he adds.

Madison, however, saw the situation differently, telling PEOPLE that Alex’s actions felt like a red flag to her.

“He is so upbeat, and I did really like that. I like being around positive people,” the artist says. “But I think it got to a point where it was almost this toxic positivity, and that’s something that I just don’t want in my circle of people.”

Madison claimed Alex acted like he was “on Mason’s side,” which ultimately made her “feel so invalidated.”

“I think Mason was the real time example, but I started thinking to the future of, ‘Okay, if I come home from a really bad day, do I want to be told to look on the bright side? Or if I get in an argument with a friend, do I want to be told that they’re a good person?’ No. Because I can get there on my own,” she says. “What I’m looking for in a partner is someone who’s able to sit in those heavy emotions and not feel uncomfortable by it and not feel like they have to push it away with positivity.”

“And I think I saw that Alex did that often. Like whenever he was uncomfortable, he would just push it away and he wasn’t really good at sitting in those heavy emotions,” Madison adds. “And so I think for me that was a non-negotiable. I need someone who’s able to be there with me because I’m going to do the same for them.”

In episode 6, Madison and Alex split for good and left the show single. However, a teaser for the next next batch of episodes shows the two returning for what appears to be a cast gathering. Mason and Meg also attend and appear to be dating again, while Alex and Madison struggle with the awkwardness of reuniting after their breakup.

After one tense moment, Madison declares, “He’s a huge liar,” though it’s unclear which man she’s speaking about.

The first six episodes of Love Is Blind season 8 are now streaming on Netflix, and episodes 7-9 drop next Friday, Feb. 21.