The Bachelor's Maria Georgas has admitted she's "not innocent" when it comes to all the drama that's played out on Joey Graziadei's season with Sydney Gordon, Jess Edwards, and Lea Cayanan.
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Maria took to TikTok on Monday, February 19 to discuss her rift with several bachelorettes on Joey Graziadei's The Bachelor season.
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"It was kind of a hard watch for two reasons: one being the drama and two, you guys got to see a little bit more of a sensitive side of me, and being vulnerable is very hard for me. But I'm happy that I shared some things, and I want to shed more light on that and expand on what else wasn't shown," Maria said, referring to The Bachelor's two-night event last week.
During The Bachelor's February 12 and February 13 episodes, Joey eliminated Sydney on her two-on-one date with Maria, and Lea, who had become best friends with Sydney, had an issue with Maria still being in the picture. Sydney had called Maria a catty "mean girl" and a "bully."
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Jess then accused Maria of being "rude" and "disrespectful" for stealing Joey's time at the cocktail party in Spain when she already had a rose in hand.
"Let's start with the drama. I really want to give grace to all of the women that were involved," Maria stated.
"Being in an environment like this, it heightens everything. Your emotions -- everything is just overwhelming, and so it does get the best of us at times. It did get the best of me, and I think you guys got to see that on the Tuesday [February 13] episode."
Maria confessed she had reached a "breaking point" at that point in the process.
As viewers probably recall, Maria had threatened to quit the show during her time in Malta, and she also snapped at and fought with Jess when confronted about monopolizing Joey's time in Spain.
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"I just want to say that I'm not innocent in this," Maria clarified.
"You know, I think I like to say that I am a woman who speaks her mind and will defend herself at all costs. That's just how I was raised. But, yeah, if I could go back, honestly, I would do things differently, especially when whatever you're going to say or do is just not going to make the other person happy."
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Maria admitted that next time she's in a similar situation, she's just "going to zip it," and she added, "When I was first told I was going to be on The Bachelor, the last thing I thought was that I was going to be in drama."
Maria insisted, "I didn't go into that house looking for trouble, I really didn't. I wanted to make friends, make memories, and then make a love connection. That's literally it."
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The 29-year-old executive assistant from Kleinburg, Ontario, pointed out that she's been watching The Bachelor right along with fans at home.
"We're all watching at the same time, and so a lot of things I'm hearing and seeing that people are saying and doing, I'm hearing it for the first time and I'm seeing it for the first time. So it is tricky," Maria noted.
"It was hard to navigate in the house and in that environment, let alone having to watch it back and kind of go through the motions. So please spread positivity. Nobody is perfect, including myself, and I just think that sh-t happens sometimes and people deal with things differently."
Maria said that while she "can't understand or explain or defend everyone's actions and doings in the house," she can take accountability for the things she had done wrong.
"I'm responsible for myself and I think that I could've done things better. So, I'll leave it at that," Maria confirmed.
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"But when I did say things will be coming to light and will be spoken about, I stand by that. And, you know, being filmed 24/7, I knew that would come in handy at some point."
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In terms of Maria showing Joey a vulnerable side of herself, she had opened up about her mother getting depressed after a serious car accident and leaving her when she was young.
"I told Joey in an earlier conversation that wasn't shown why I might be a little bit more straightforward and blunt, I guess, is the word. I'm a little bit rough around the edges... and it is because I was raised by my dad and my brothers, and I'm just a little more tough," Maria explained.
"My dad and my mom were separated, and to me, growing up, I didn't know what to think of it. I held resentment. I couldn't understand it, and I just didn't have my mom around, and that was kind of it."
Maria said that life has taught her to remain positive and be grateful for every day on this earth.
"Innately, you should always be nice to everyone you meet and to everyone around you, but respect is earned. And, you know, I don't like to put myself into situations where I feel like I need to be on the attack," Maria said.
"I don't like to put myself into situations where I'm dealing with petty fights -- I really don't, because there are things far worse that are going on in people's lives."
Maria insisted that she felt "so lucky" to compete on The Bachelor's 28th season.
"Guys, I was on a yacht!" Maria quipped, referring to her two-on-one date against Sydney in Malta.
"Do you think I wanted to sit there and be sad?! No! I am so grateful for everything that's going on, and I'm grateful for everyone that's so supportive of me. I'm just trying to focus on the positive and not the negative, and I thought that's what I was trying to make clear to everyone."
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Maria concluded her video by asking her followers to "choose to be happy."
Sydney previously accused Maria of gaslighting women on The Bachelor, but she has faced backlash and hate from many fans for how she had treated Maria and thrown her under the bus.
Maria appeared to have support from Edwina Dorbor, Allison Hollinger, Jenn Tran, and Lexi Young during filming.
On The Bachelor's latest episode that aired on Monday, February 19, Maria received a special one-on-one date with Joey in Montreal, Canada, in which they rode around in a limo and went shopping at a boutique for a beautiful gown. The date ended with Joey giving Maria a rose.
During his time in Montreal, Lexi quit the show, and Joey eliminated Lea, Jess, and Katelyn DeBacker.
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Click here to learn more about Joey's The Bachelor bachelorettes or click here to read spoilers that reveal how Joey's season ends and who he picked as his winner.
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