Victoria Fuller and boyfriend Greg Grippo, who admit they had interest in each other prior to Victoria's stint on Bachelor in Paradise, have revealed who made the first move.
ADVERTISEMENT
Victoria and Greg met at Governors Ball Music Festival in September 2021 and remained friends. Although they admittedly had interest in each other, they supposedly never expressed or acted on those feelings.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Greg was also in a relationship with another woman when Victoria chose to look for love on Bachelor in Paradise's eighth season, which wrapped filming in June and ended with Victoria and Johnny DePhillipo engaged.
But Victoria and Johnny's relationship crashed and burned three weeks after they left Mexico, and they have both said in the press that their last in-person meeting was in mid-September.
ADVERTISEMENT
Victoria and Greg therefore shared their story about when they first got together, romantically, during the latest episode of Nick Viall's "The Viall Files" podcast.
Greg told Nick that he and Victoria started talking "at the end of September."
When asked who reached out first, Greg replied, "I don't know," and then Victoria claimed, "I don't remember."
"Did you?" Victoria asked Greg.
"Mmm, I don't think so," Greg confessed.
ADVERTISEMENT
The couple laughed and so Nick pointed out how Victoria clearly must have hit up Greg.
"My memory serves me correctly," Greg noted. "I think you gave me a call."
"Yeah," Victoria conceded. "I did. I don't even know what I said."
Victoria claimed she and Greg always had "a platonic relationship" in which they'd call and check up on each other.
"I think I just hit him up and was like, 'Hey! How are you?' And then we just got caught up on life," Victoria revealed. "And yeah, I did end up telling him that Johnny and I weren't together anymore -- and we went from there."
ADVERTISEMENT
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Victoria said she thought her relationship with Johnny was over for good in August but they met up two more times to discuss things so Johnny could find the closure he needed.
However, since Johnny thought he and Victoria were working on things over the summer and didn't officially split until mid-September, cheating allegations surfaced and Victoria faced some serious backlash.
But Victoria acknowledged how criticism she moved on from Johnny too quickly is valid when thinking about the situation from a Bachelor in Paradise viewer's perspective.
"It's almost like whiplash," Victoria said.
ADVERTISEMENT
But Victoria and Greg insisted they didn't start dating away once Johnny was out of the picture.
"I then visited her in Nashville. We obviously didn't go out anywhere. It was, like, a scary time. She just got out of a relationship. There was a long interest [that led up to this]," Greg shared.
Greg said he "stayed the night," prompting Victoria to joke about how Greg had slept on the couch.
But Victoria said Greg was "hesitant" to pursue her, and Greg agreed her was "super hesitant."
"After we hung out for a night, I went back home and we had a conversation. I was like, 'Listen, we obviously really like one another, but I don't think this is, like, good timing, obviously, with everything that's going on,'" Greg revealed.
Greg said they both agreed to back off because it wasn't good timing.
"We're not delusional. It's not the best way to start a brand new relationship, you know, in the midst of everything and in the midst of it being aired," Greg conceded. "And that was hard because there was such a spark between us, and it was so new and fresh and fun."
Greg said he and Victoria just "complemented each other" so well but they chose to "think rationally" because the world wasn't going to like them getting together so fast.
"[Victoria] was like, 'This is super logical and I totally understand,' but then 12 hours later or 24 hours later, we were like, 'No, I want to see you again,'" Greg confessed.
"Yeah, [our restraint] didn't last long," Victoria added.
Victoria said they stayed in communication at that point because, despite having a longtime interest in each other, they questioned if they were better off as friends -- or if they really liked each other.
ADVERTISEMENT
"[We were like], 'What the f-ck is this?'" Victoria admitted.
Greg admitted it "was a weird f-cking way" to start out a relationship given they had to hide from fans and worry about someone spotting them.
"We didn't know what we were. We didn't know how serious this was going to get. We had never been out in public before... There was a point when things were stagnant," Greg said.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Greg claimed he and Victoria didn't know if they were going to continue after their night together in Nashville.
"We ended it after that night, like, 'Maybe this isn't the best timing,'" Greg shared.
But Greg told Nick that "Rome changed everything" in late October.
Victoria and Greg were spotted in Italy together and photos of them circulated on social media. At the time, fans questioned if Victoria was cheating on Johnny, given the former couple's engagement had yet to air on Bachelor in Paradise.
"We never had this planned... I think we both saw that it could be something good," Greg recalled, adding how he called Victoria and said he wanted to take her out on a real date.
"[I said], 'Enough of this. Let's actually see if me and you are going to be together.' I was like, 'Let's go to Europe!' And she was like, 'I've always wanted to see Italy.'"
Greg said he immediately looked up flights and booked a trip for a couple of days later.
"I was like, 'Let's f-cking do this! Let's get wigs if we actually notice people [recognizing] us.' But it was so fun... It was such a fun and unique way to kick things off," Greg gushed.
ADVERTISEMENT
But Greg said their cover was blown once Victoria wanted to see the Colosseum and they noticed "a bunch of college girls" running nearby.
Victoria pointed out it shouldn't be a crazy story to believe because she and Johnny got engaged on Bachelor in Paradise within three weeks.
"So going to Rome on your first date isn't that crazy!" Victoria said. "That was really our only way of being able to go on a public date, or so we thought. If we did that in America, people would've seen us and we would've been burned at the stake."
Greg recalled how a TikTok video had leaked while he and Victoria were out to dinner and their romance was "challenging" because they really wanted to keep it private.
Ten days after Greg and Victoria traveled to Italy, Greg said Victoria asked him to be her boyfriend.
Victoria then lost her cool, saying how it was "so f-cking stupid" she needed to defend herself.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I'm just frustrated... I'm so f-cking tired. If I don't want to be with somebody because it is a toxic environment, I shouldn't have to be with that person because the world wants me to," Victoria cried, referring to Johnny.
Victoria also alleged on the podcast that Johnny had called her demeaning names such as "a homewrecker" and a "f-cking c-nt" -- which Johnny denied ever doing and called "low blows" -- and that he supposedly lied about his career and withheld information from her about his time on The Bachelorette.
"I am hurting too, and I should be able to move on! And whether it's f-cking three days or a month, I should be able to do that! I never cheated on Johnny," Victoria concluded.
Victoria and Greg, who believe they are on the same page in life, spent Thanksgiving together, and Victoria said Greg is thinking about moving from New York City to Nashville to be with her.
Meanwhile, Johnny has been trying to move on after receiving the closure he needed at the reunion.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
ADVERTISEMENT
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!