The Bachelor's Maria Georgas has revealed that she went through a "really dark" time and felt "ugly" prior to appearing on Joey Graziadei's season of the show.
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On The Bachelor this season, Maria shared with Joey how she and her mother had gotten into a car wreck when Maria was an infant.
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Maria recalled a cement truck crushing her mother's car and how the fact the both of them survived was dubbed a "miracle" by local press.
Maria explained to Joey how her mother had fallen into a depression after the accident and left her when she was young, which left Maria resentful, frustrated and confused about her parents' separation.
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Maria was mainly raised by her father and brothers, and she cites her upbringing as the reason why she's "tough" as well as a little "rough around the edges" and "blunt."
Maria posted a TikTok video on Monday and showed the article about her mother's car accident in an old newspaper. She went on to reveal how that wasn't the only traumatic accident she's endured in her life.
"Going through something so tragic like that, I can only imagine what my mom went through," Maria said.
"At the time, I didn't understand it. She had to go to rehab to learn how to properly walk again, but it could've been worse. They thought she broke every bone in her body, but that just wasn't the case, and I'm still here standing."
The 29-year-old executive assistant from Kleinburg, Ontario, continued, "In 2018, I got into a really, really bad car accident myself. It brought me to a really dark place. Now, looking back, I can talk about it, because when I was in the moment, I didn't want to see my friends and I didn't want to see my family."
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Maria admitted, "I felt ugly. I just, I don't know, I didn't see what the meaning of life was anymore. It was just a hard time for me. It was not a good place to be in, and it was not a good headspace to be in. It was terrible."
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Maria said she's so grateful to have "the most amazing friends and family," who helped her "get out of that" emotional and mental struggle.
"I couldn't push them away for too long, so they made it a thing to help me get out of that, and I'm really glad that they did. That's why I choose to be as positive as I can every day and just be grateful for another day on Earth," Maria said.
"Because you just don't know what life can throw at you. You just don't know that life can change in an instant, and that's how I connected it to Joey. Going through something myself, I was able to reconnect with my mom and forgive her and understand where she was at."
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Maria added that because of her past, she doesn't like to complain about things.
"I am grateful for every opportunity that I get," Maria claimed. "Everyone I have in my life, I love so much and don't know where I would be without them."
In a caption written over her video, Maria insisted, "If you ever feel like this, please seek help no matter what. DON'T suffer in silence like I tried to do."
Maria went on to say in the video that people should "always be nice" to others, although "respect is earned."
She elaborated, "I don't like to put myself into situations where I feel like I need to be on the attack. 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."
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Maria also noted 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 Gordon 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."
Maria concluded her video by asking her followers to "choose to be happy."
During The Bachelor's February 12 and February 13 episodes, Joey eliminated Sydney on her two-on-one date with Maria, and Lea Cayanan, who had become best friends with Sydney, had an issue with Maria surviving elimination. Sydney had called Maria a catty "mean girl" and a "bully."
Jess Edwards 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.
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.
Sydney recently took to Instagram and accused Maria of gaslighting women on The Bachelor. But Sydney has faced backlash and hate from many fans for how she had treated Maria and thrown her under the bus.
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Maria, for her part, said that "things will come to light" and explain the drama on The Bachelor.
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