Devin Strader has slammed Sam McKinney and explained why he thinks Sam M. had such a problem with him while filming Jenn Tran's season of The Bachelorette.
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"I have no inclination of this other than, maybe, I pissed off a couple of his buddies like [Aaron Erb] and [Thomas Nguyen]. I have no reasoning for why he thinks the way he thinks about me. We do not like each other."
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The podcast's co-host, Joe Amabile, pointed out how Sam had told Devin on The Bachelorette that he didn't respect him without providing a reason as to why that was the case.
"I think he maybe thought that I could've been two-faced somehow, based on the way that I've been acting, like, 'There's no way this is who he is; he's got to be somebody different,'" Devin said.
Devin argued, however, that he never acted a different way around Jenn than he behaved with the other men.
"I made the same ass of myself in front of Jenn a bunch of times that I did in front of the guys," Devin quipped.
When diving deeper into the drama and source of conflict, Devin went on to share what he believes may be the real reason behind Sam's aggression towards him.
"I think that, in my mind, the reason Sam doesn't like me is because he's probably met somebody like me in real life that he doesn't like and he's associating me with that person," Devin speculated.
"And no matter what I say or do, it's always going to have that effect on him."
Devin acknowledged that while he's "not necessarily the easiest guy" to get along with, he's certainly "not a disrespectful person" or anything of the sort.
"I make people laugh and I'm very embracing and comforting when it comes to people, so for me, I didn't know [why he disliked me]," Devin said.
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"But in my mind, I was like, 'Okay, this isn't going to change. So if it's not going to change, I might as well have a little fun with it.'"
Joe's "Bachelor Happy Hour" co-host and wife, Serena Pitt, asked Devin if he thought Sam had viewed him as "the main competitor" to win Jenn's heart, which would naturally cause tension between them.
"Yeah, I think the difference with Sam and I is that we're so polar in how we operate in life," Devin explained.
"Sam is a good looking guy. I won't say very many nice things about him, but that's one thing I'll say: he's a good looking guy. And I think he's kind of had it easy, maybe, in the women department a little bit."
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Devin clarified that he personally hasn't had "a hard time" in the women department but Sam has probably had it a bit easier.
"We do things completely differently in life," Devin elaborated of why he and Sam butted heads.
"I think he doesn't understand that I can achieve the same things that he's achieved: getting of all this attention and being validated by this woman that you like and having these experiences with her and her enjoying it."
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Devin said while he didn't know where Sam and himself were ranked in Jenn's heart and mind at that point in the process, he believes that Sam thought he was above Devin.
"I'll say that, in my mind, I think [Sam] thinks he's better than me but he doesn't know why it's not translating into real life," Devin concluded.
Many The Bachelorette fans have applauded Devin for speaking his mind and prioritizing Jenn by taking advantage of small moments with her and using his time on the show wisely.
But Devin's tactics for pursuing Jenn on The Bachelorette were very unpopular with Jenn's other bachelors, and he's found himself at the center of drama all season long.
"When you know yourself so well... none of these little words are going to trigger me, and I think that's what frustrated everyone so much about me, was that they were trying to assume and place this judgment and mask on me that wasn't there -- and it wasn't going to bother me," Devin explained.
"I was there for Jenn. I didn't have any idea about the show. I didn't care about any of the antics or the unwritten rules or the group collective thinking that I think was going on at that time."
Devin concluded, "I was just focused on her, and I think that's what rubbed a lot of the guys the wrong way."
Several of The Bachelorette bachelors have called Devin selfish, arrogant and disrespectful on The Bachelorette, and Sam even labeled Devin "a bully" and called him "an ankle-biting dog."
But Devin admitted he had a team of guys behind him, even though it seemed like he was on an island by himself.
"[My team was] bigger than you might expect. [Jonathon Johnson] was really close to me, and [Grant Ellis] and [Sam Nejad]. I love Sam N., and [Brian Autz] and [Marcus Shoberg]. Marcus was fantastic to me, and even [Austin Ott]," Devin revealed.
"A lot of the guys were very good talking points for me, because again, with so much commotion and chaos -- I'd like to say I'm so high and mighty and don't need to talk about it, but I liked to get some solace and comfort from the guys in the house every now and then."
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When asked if she was bothered by Devin's controversial approach to dating her on The Bachelorette, Jenn recently shared on "The Viall Files" podcast that she actually liked and appreciated it.
"No, I didn't [have any problem with it!]," Jenn admitted to Nick Viall during the August 1 episode of "The Viall Files" podcast.
"That's the purpose of the show, right? It's to get as much time as you can and to show that you're here with something to offer and to show that you care!"
Click here to read episode-by-episode spoilers about how the rest of Jenn's The Bachelorette season unfolds, including who Jenn picks as her winner and runner-up.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski