Brendan Morais denies being fame-hungry and plotting with Pieper James for followers on 'Bachelor in Paradise'

Brendan Morais has released his "Paradise Apology, a "full statement and apology" about his controversial behavior on Bachelor in Paradise's seventh season regarding his love triangle with Natasha Parker and Pieper James.


Brendan, 31, posted a seven-minute Instagram video titled "Paradise Apology" on Thursday to speak on what transpired before and during his Bachelor in Paradise stint amid backlash from fans and Bachelor Nation.

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"[I'd like to] hopefully give a little bit of context and clarity to the situation. But most importantly, I wanted to apologize to you, Natasha," Brendan began in his post.

"I never meant to hurt you, I never meant to lead you on. I truthfully and honestly enjoyed spending time with you. I enjoyed your sweet, soft, kind nature and your gentle spirit. That's something I'm really, really drawn to."


Brendan alleged, however, he and Natasha "did not have that romantic spark," which is "imperative for a relationship to really grow."

"Just knowing you for a handful of days, I never could have imagined the heartbreak that I caused you," Brendan said, and I'm very, very sorry for that," he noted.

Brendan told Natasha -- who had been dating and pining for Brendan prior to Pieper's arrival -- that he and Pieper had only hung out two times in the real world, but Pieper claimed she had hung out with the 31-year-old commercial roofer around 10 times before Paradise commenced.

Brendan also admitted to downplaying his pre-Paradise romance with Pieper to the other cast members while he dated Natasha on the beach and seemingly strung her along for roses, waiting for Pieper's arrival.

Natasha told the cameras she felt "played" and "swindled" by "a con artist" who had "lied" to and "manipulated" her.


And when Natasha confronted Brendan about having lied about his past with Pieper, Brendan accused Natasha of having had "selective hearing" during their days together and said they had only developed "a friendship."

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Natasha therefore later accused Brendan of "gaslighting" and being disrespectful to her on Twitter.

Brendan went on to insist in his video statement that he and Pieper weren't schemers, although Pieper didn't hesitate to ask Brendan on a date immediately upon her Paradise arrival.

The summer spinoff also aired footage of Brendan and Pieper laughing about Brendan "playing the game" and "doing certain things" in the Paradise process to make sure he and Pieper could be on the beach at the same time and resume their pre-existing romance.


"Pieper and I were not in an exclusive relationship," Brendan said.

"I never asked her to be my girlfriend. Yes, we went out to eat and, yes, we hung out in group settings. I absolutely thought she was beautiful and smart and funny."

He added, "I told her straight up, 'I would love to see you in Paradise. If you could go, that would be amazing.' But she didn't know if she could go, and she didn't know if she wanted to go."

Brendan therefore insisted he "absolutely went to Paradise [as] a single man."

"I know this is hard for a lot of people to believe, but if I met a female that swept me off my feet, I would have absolutely pursued that. That's just the fact of the matter," Brendan claimed.


"And as far as Pieper and I having this big, elaborate plan -- I'm not the smartest person in the world, for sure, but I feel like it would have gone just a little bit better than it did if we had this plan. And, you know, of course, it went horrible in every way."

Footage captured Brendan and Pieper quietly talking about their influencer status and number of Instagram followers, which have since plummeted, by nearly 30 percent in Brendan's case.

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Brendan also joked about having "incriminated" himself to the point where he'd probably look like an "assh-le" on television.

But Brendan insisted accusations he went on the show to boost his fame and gain more Instagram followers are not true and that just was "not the case."
  
"I wanted to be on the beach and get a month with a beautiful person and get to know her more and spend 20-plus hours a day with them and potentially fall in love," Brendan said.


"If I wanted the max amount of followers, I would not have pursued Pieper or Natasha. I would have went after a girl with a million followers."

He continued, "Everyone saying I'm there for TV and all that stuff is just ironic and silly, as they're mic'ed up and in an interview with a camera in their face saying that I'm there for TV, but fully understanding that they're speaking to a camera that's going to air their words on TV."

Brendan said all the cast members have "a good understanding" that they're going to be on TV when they choose to find love on Bachelor in Paradise.

"Most importantly, Natasha, I never meant to lead you on and I'm very, very sorry for that. You are beautiful and amazing and deserve good things in life, and the fact that I tarnished your experience in Paradise is something that I feel awful about," Brendan said.

"The only thing I can do in this particular moment is apologize, is to acknowledge where I went wrong -- and I went wrong in so many different ways with you, Natasha, and with Pieper and even the other girls on the beach."

Brendan also mentioned how he wasn't looking for forgiveness or to clear his name.


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"I just want everyone to know that I'm acknowledging where I went wrong and I need to continue to work on myself as a man and learn and try to be a better person," Brendan said.

"I know that I'm a good person, I know I'm a good man, but I need to continue to grow and that's that."

Also in his video statement, Brendan touched upon more specific things for which he has been criticized and slammed.

Brendan, for instance, apologized for being "immature" and "rude" in calling Natasha "annoying" and also saying she "did not have any prospects" on the beach.

Brendan said his words were "super uncalled for" and clarified how Natasha just wasn't interested in any other men and no one was else was trying to pursue a relationship with her at the time they were getting to know each other.

"I had no prospects as well. I wasn't talking to any other girls, and other girls weren't talking to me," Brendan noted.


"'No prospects' sounds mean, and I worded that wrong. I did not mean that she's not a beautiful and amazing person whom a number of guys would pursue."

Brendan also said he thought he had made it "clear" when telling Natasha "something was missing" between them -- "that romantic aspect."

Brendan recalled trying to slowly pull away from Natasha, which resulted in frustration from his end.

"I didn't think her and I were on the same page, and clearly we weren't, and that's my mistake," Brendan said.

"What I'm really discovering about myself is my inability to communicate in a way that I think I am... I tried to sugarcoat things and say things in a way that won't hurt anyone's feelings, but in turn, I make the matter way worse and I hurt people."

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Brendan repeatedly called the poor communication his "fault," saying he must pay attention to how his words are being received by others and react accordingly.

Brendan released his first short apology on September 8, saying he had been "completely insensitive" and "deeply" apologizing for hurting Natasha and doing damage.

Pieper has also released several statements in the last week or so, after her romance with Brendan aired on TV. At the time, Brendan also called for grace for Pieper, saying everything that happened was completely his fault.

Pieper said she and Brendan were not in "an exclusive relationship" prior to filming Bachelor in Paradise and that she had "no idea" what she was walking into and whether Brendan would be on the beach once she joined the cast.

Pieper also said she's "truly sorry" for any hurt her actions caused Natasha and others.

However, Pieper said in her Instagram Stories that "production and editing" played a role in making her and Brendan look back, and she told Us Weekly that she doesn't have "any regrets" about her time on the show or relationship with Brendan.


Pieper also recently accused Natasha of being aware of the fact she and Brendan had been "talking" before Paradise started filming, a claim which Natasha ultimately denied.

On the latest episode of Bachelor in Paradise, Brendan called Natasha, Demi Burnett and her friends "disgruntled females" after they accused him of wasting everyone's time in Paradise.

Brendan said his co-stars -- who told Brendan and Pieper they would leave the beach if they had any "dignity" left -- had made "a pathetic attempt to intimidate [him]" and that Natasha was just "salty."

Pieper whispered to Brendan afterwards, "I told you I didn't want to come. I told you."

Brendan and Pieper then decided to leave the beach on their own terms and continue their relationship at home.

"I didn't intentionally want to mislead anyone; I just withheld information," Brendan said in his final words.


Despite all the drama, Pieper told Us late last week that she and Brendan are "working through things."

"This obviously isn't something that's super healthy for a relationship either, so it kind of is what it is. Every day, [we're] taking it day by day," Pieper revealed.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski