That’s what it felt like. It felt like he would say one thing and do the other. That’s why [I called him] Mr. Suave, because like, you say it, do it. You say you’re a good cook. Show me you’re a good cook. Like, can you boil water? Things like that.
Do you still feel that way?
Yeah, I think for me, my frustration was because he’s saying the right things. Looking back, I’ll be like, “Why was I so mean?” But in that moment, I felt like I was being so mean because I was being open and honest about all the problems that we were having because we’re getting married soon, so we just have to throw it out there. And he would just be like, “It’s amazing!” And maybe that’s how he felt. But for me, I was like, “what’s going on?” I was just very confused, because I just didn’t know what was going on his mind most of the time.
Obviously, a lot has been made of you getting “the ick.”
Some people get it and some people don’t, and unfortunately, I get it, and I’m working on trying to, like, not ick myself out so much. [Laughs]
It’s not just you. Before the cheating scandal even happens, Monica says “everything [Stephen’s] doing is pissing me off.” I saw a post that boiled down to “the women this season don’t like any of these men.” Do you think that’s fair?
This is my theory on it: I think that all women in every city are educated, beautiful women. DC is a very unique place. It’s a grind, it’s a hustle…LinkedIn is the place to be. I think we are all so confident in ourselves and we know exactly what we want, and if a man is not as fierce as us, maybe that’s when you start to see things crack. I think that’s what you’re seeing. We know what we want, and if you’re not there, we’ll tell you exactly what’s wrong. We’ll just speak our mind.
How did you feel about what happened between Stephen and Monica?
I was flabbergasted. I knew that they were a little bit rocky, but in the pods, I just imagine that the relationship is just this sweet Cinderella story. Like mom and dad, they’re just gonna have such a beautiful love story. Then we’re in Mexico, and there’s little cracks and stuff, but it’s just normal. So when I found out that he cheated, I think it really crushed me the worst because that’s Monica’s trauma and that’s what had happened to her previously in relationships, and to have that done to her, just the disrespect. I felt horrible.
