Maria Georgas has clarified Jenn Tran "wanting" to be The Bachelorette star, saying that Jenn's intentions were pure and fans have twisted her own words the wrong way.
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"I said on a podcast that her and I had spoken, and I had said that she really was ready for [The Bachelorette]... I wasn't trying to say that she was in the house talking about The Bachelorette. That's not what I was saying," Maria explained.
Maria griped to former The Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe, "And so for anyone to twist my words into making it something that it's not, I'm like, 'Uh, uh.' I have been a Jenn [fan] since the day I met her, and we've been supporting each other."
Maria said that while she knew some of the women on Joey's The Bachelor season had "ulterior motives" for going on the show, Jenn was not one of them.
Maria also clarified that her conversations with Jenn about potentially starring on The Bachelorette took place once they wrapped filming on The Bachelor's 28th season late last year.
"I'm talking about after the show... Her and I got really, really close by the end of the show. Her and I were talking all the time, FaceTiming all the time, and we would just talk about how ready we were for relationships and the future and what that holds," Maria shared.
"She would talk about how she put her all into this, and what I can honestly say about Jenn is that during [Joey's] season, she was so in it, to the point where I was almost like, 'She is dropping all of her walls.'"
Maria admitted she felt "so uncomfortable" at times during The Bachelor process but Jenn was "giving it her all."
Maria gushed of her friend, "I applauded her for that and I loved her for that! That's who she is. She really saw a future with Joey and she gave it her all... I admire her for that."
Maria continued, "When we talked after the show, and obviously we were both single, The Bachelorette came up... and she was so ready to get engaged and to get to that point in her life, where that's what I was trying to say when I said, 'She's so ready.'"
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RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOWMaria shared how she and Jenn always had heart-to-heart conversations and so she has a grasp on Jenn's true intentions.
"I think it's [admirable] that now we have a Bachelorette who is so ready to be in that position, wanting that for her future and is literally so ready to give her all to someone else," Maria said.
"I respect that, and I love that about her... I love Jenn."
Maria has confidence Jenn is going to "find her man" on The Bachelorette, and she added, "I cannot wait to meet him! And he better be good to her, or else!"
Maria, however, had been offered The Bachelorette role first. She backed out of filming the show's 21st season after having dress fittings.
Once Maria opted out of starring on The Bachelorette, she apparently tried to talk The Bachelorette producers into giving Jenn the position.
"I said to [ABC executive Rob Mills], 'Jenn is going to be perfect for this position. Not only is she ready, but for [Asian] representation, she is the perfect well-rounded Bachelorette.' And I don't know how that didn't come across with how I've been supporting her and what I've been saying," Maria explained.
Maria has publicly gushed about Jenn being The Bachelorette star ever since ABC announced Jenn's casting on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose in late March.
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Maria even revealed that during Joey's season, she and Jenn would write notes to each other before one-on-one dates.
"We would write each other notes to encourage [each other] to kill it that day. It's very isolating in that house sometimes, so it's nice to have that person to go to," Maria shared.
Maria concluded that she "cannot wait" to watch The Bachelorette's 21st season, which premieres Monday, July 8 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.
"Listen, I can share my story and what happened with me, and also share my support for her," Maria insisted.
"It can happen at the same time, but I don't want anyone twisting my words... I am in full support of Jenn, she's deserving of this, and that's that! Team Jenn!"
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Maria was also asked if she regrets her decision to drop out of The Bachelorette during her "Off the Vine" appearance on May 14.
"No, not even for a second," Maria told Kaitlyn. "I think I actually had a realization that I did the exact thing that I should've done, and I'm very happy."
Maria pointed out, "It wasn't my time, and I was really putting my mental health first. I respect my decision, so no, I don't regret it at all."
Maria's explanation for dropping out was that she was "not in the right headspace" to be The Bachelorette star this year and her heart simply wasn't in it. She said she didn't want to waste a bunch of men's time.
"Jenn was one of my closest girls in the house, and she was always verbalizing how badly she wanted this. And when everyone around me was so supportive of me being in this position and everyone wanted this for me, I kind of took a second and was like, 'Why am I not happy? Why am I not excited about this?'" Maria previously said on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast.
"It took me realizing that it's just not my time where I was like, 'Guys, respectfully, I need to decline. I need to take a step back.'"
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Both Bachelor Nation alums Wells Adams and Nick Viall, however, have recently expressed how they're skeptical Maria was the one who had opted out of starring on The Bachelorette.
Wells had called Maria "a little unhinged" and wondered if The Bachelorette producers thought she'd be too difficult to control during a March episode of his "Your Favorite Things" podcast.
"I heard that her demands were ridiculous and they were like, 'No,'" Wells said.
"I guess one of her demands is that she wanted to have her phone the entire time, which is like, come on! Another [rumor] I heard -- and who knows if any of this is true -- but I heard that she wanted... them to hire her friend to be her [own personal handler or producer], which, no! They are not qualified to do that job!"
Maria, however, said on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast that when she heard Wells' comments, she immediately "wanted so badly to shut that sh-t down."
Maria added, "[Wells] knows how mentally draining and physically draining this could be, so to say something like that, shut the f-ck up! You don't know me!... [And] everyone knows you get your phone taken away and that's it."
And Nick had said on "The Viall Files" podcast earlier this month, "I think that's definitely Maria's truth... I just think there's another version to this story."
Nick elaborated, "I don't know anything specific about what happened with Maria and the show and why she turned it down, but in my experience, the few instances where someone was meant to be the lead and in the last minute there was a switch, I only know that, from experience, the show decided that the juice wasn't worth the squeeze."
Nick noted that while producers have worked with "difficult people" in the past, they "really value" the ability to get along with a lead since it's "a very long process."
Maria was a fan-favorite on Joey's season of The Bachelor, which just wrapped in March on ABC.
Joey had eliminated Maria after hometown dates in fourth place, and he ultimately got engaged to Kelsey Anderson. Joey and Kelsey are still together and planning a move to New York City in July or August this year.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
