Bachelor in Paradise alum Maurissa Gunn has dished about her breakup with Riley Christian and how it was "a difficult situation" pretty much right when they left the beach in Mexico.
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Following weeks of breakup speculation, Riley and Maurissa confirmed their split in a joint statement on January 24, three months after their engagement aired on Bachelor in Paradise's October 2021 finale.
"Clearly you guys saw me on the beach all the time, like, breaking down, thinking he was not as into me as I was him," Maurissa said on a recent episode of Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti's "The Ben and Ashley I: Almost Famous podcast."
Maurissa, 25, continued of when her relationship with Riley began going south, "I was all in, so in love from Day 1, you know? And that's kind of where it started -- like that feeling that I had there in Paradise was kind of the feeling that just continued to go on."
Maurissa suggested she had ignored the warning signs and red flags with the New York-based attorney and fitness enthusiast.
"I get upset with myself, [like], 'You knew it right then and there, but you were just trying to like work through the circumstances,'" Maurissa revealed, adding how she was thinking at the time, "Oh, you're kind of being a little nuts, like, he's so into you."
Maurissa also said Riley's feelings for her were pretty apparent on the show when watching it back on TV.
"[I thought], 'He's not into anyone else or doing anything [wrong].' And for me, the feelings still carried over throughout our whole relationship," Maurissa explained.
In late February, The Bachelor alum Demi Burnett appeared to suggest Riley may have been at fault for the split, and Maurissa "liked" the tweet.
"Y'all got the Maurissa and Riley break up SO WRONG," Demi tweeted on February 3, adding, "I'm mad at the BS being portrayed!... I don't want to talk about it bc it's stressful and not my business to tell! BUT LOOK DEEPER LISTEN TO UR INTUITION."
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RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOWAnd several weeks later, Maurissa appeared to slam Riley by retweeting two of The Bachelor alum Deandra Kanu's Twitter posts that were also seemingly aimed at Riley, 32.
"I'm not an inherently messy person, but when I see things in real time and then see someone skew that perception for social media it's very scary," Deandra wrote at the time.
"It's not okay by any means to be the catalyst of your own demise and then go onto socials and ask for the publics sympathy," she added in a second tweet. "There are always two sides to a story."
While Deandra didn't name Riley directly, her tweets came only one day after Riley posted a lengthy statement on Instagram about how he was trying to "heal" and bounce back from his breakup with Maurissa.
Maurissa initially sparked the Riley breakup rumors in early January when she'd post cryptic messages such as "don't worry, be happy" and began slowly removing photos of Riley from her Instagram account, seemingly taking jabs at her ex-fiance.
Maurissa also shared a video without her engagement ring and a cryptic quote that read, "All that glitters is not gold," which suggested Riley may not have been all that he was cracked up to be.
Maurissa, however, told Ashley and Ben that she doesn't think Riley went on Bachelor in Paradise with bad intentions, looking for something other than love.
"I think that being in the circumstances we were in, it became reality, like, coming off of the show, you know?" Maurissa said.
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She added, "I was kind of going down to make this person happy rather than meeting [in the middle] or helping each other grow."
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But Maurissa advised future Bachelor in Paradise contestants to trust your gut, be true to yourselves, and know what you deserve and really want.
"Make sure you're compatible with how you want to raise kids, how you want to have family, things like that, where you want to live. I made the mistake by trying to sacrifice everything going into it for love," said Maurissa, who moved from Atlanta, GA, to New York to be with Riley after the show.
"But I mean, I don't think it was really a sacrifice -- when you're in love, that's what you do... I'm still questioning it myself."
Maurissa, who is originally from Montana, is now back in Atlanta after the breakup.
"I clearly want love, I want marriage. I want babies," Maurissa shared.
Maurissa actually went on a date recently -- which apparently didn't work out -- and revealed, "I'm dating. I'm trying to date... I'm older, I'm more mature now. I've been here and I know what I want in a man. I think I was unsure going in [to The Bachelor franchise]."
Maurissa also said she'd keep an open mind about potentially returning to Bachelor in Paradise again.
As for what she's looking for in an ideal partner, Maurissa disclosed, "I'm looking for someone that knows what they want, and doesn't just say they know what they want."
"They're very ambitious. Someone that wants the same things I want... I know the right questions to ask, you know? I know not to just fall in love with somebody right away that says, 'Oh, you're pretty... and I want to take you on a date.'"
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"I feel like I was just so ready for love that I would take anything at that point. And now I found myself -- I've done a lot of, like, help. I've been through therapy, a lot of things like that," Maurissa said.
"And I just know my worth and myself now. Because at first, I feel like I was kind of going down, like, to make this person happy rather than meeting or making each other grow."
Back in October 2021, Maurissa told People that she was planning to have a "wedding and then some babies" with Riley.
When Maurissa accepted a pear-shaped diamond engagement ring from Riley on the beach in Mexico in Summer 2021, the pair became the franchise's first-ever Black couple to get engaged.
Riley and Maurissa fell head over heels in love with each other in Paradise, but Riley was still a little unsure as to whether he was going to pop the question after the pair's overnight Fantasy Suite date.
Riley assured People last year that it "was never a thought" to leave the resort alone but he had to take a moment or two to reflect on the idea of potentially making Maurissa his fiancee.
"[I thought to myself], 'This is everything that you've ever wanted -- having a fiancee and being able to start a family.' I knew where I was already leaning towards," Riley explained at the time.
"It's just like, 'This is a big decision, take some time to think about it. Okay, you thought about it.' It didn't take that long. 'And now, go propose and get your lady.'"
Riley proceeded to call himself the "luckiest" man in the world to have Maurissa by his side.
Prior to appearing on Bachelor in Paradise, Riley competed on Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams' edition of The Bachelorette in 2020.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
