Bachelor in Paradise star Victoria Paul has revealed that her desire to appear on the show's seventh season this summer led to her split with ex-boyfriend Teddy Robb.
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Victoria insisted Monday on her Instagram Stories that she and Teddy, an aspiring musician, broke up in May and have remained great friends ever since.
But Victoria suggested she was dating Teddy right up to her Bachelor in Paradise appearance during Wednesday's episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast.
"We had only been dating [for,] like, two and a half months," Victoria explained of her former relationship, according to Us Weekly.
"I think that probably the weight of whether Paradise was going to be a thing or not weighed heavy on our relationship. He didn't ask me to stay and was just like, 'You should do it. You should go. I encourage you to follow your heart.'"
Victoria said she wasn't trying to spark a romance when she moved to Nashville in January because she "knew that Paradise was a thing." However, she said she couldn't stop a connection with Teddy from forming.
"He asked me to get a drink with him and we ended up going. We became really close, like, best friends. It just developed into something more unintentionally," she explained.
Victoria claimed she was "very honest" with Teddy from the start about the possibility she may want to appear on Paradise but that made their relationship complicated.
"That's part of the reason why going on Paradise was difficult because I'm, like, typically in my relationships in the past it's been, 'I'm going to get to know you. You're going to get to know me.' There's no pressure, but if we connect and it takes off... great!" she said.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Victoria shared how she and Teddy ended their short-lived relationship before Bachelor in Paradise's seventh season began filming.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW"He broke up with me and was, like, 'I just feel like you've got your own thing going on. Paradise is this huge weight on us, whether you're going to go, whether you're not. Are we serious enough for you to stay? Are you going to have regrets if you stay?' Victoria recalled, Us reported.
Victoria, however, apparently didn't see Teddy's support of her Paradise stint as a good thing.
"I think he was probably trying to give me his blessing, but it was like he wouldn't fully commit," Victoria explained, seemingly hoping Teddy would ask her to stay home and just continue dating him.
"When someone won't fully commit, naturally it's, like, 'Okay, well if you're not going to be all in then maybe I should [explore other options].'"
When Victoria chose to leave Paradise and end her little fling with James, she told the cameras in her final words on Monday night's episode, "This doesn't look anything like I thought it would, but does it ever?"
"I hope James' perception of me is still good," she added. "I don't think he has peace right now. I can see he's shaken up by this... I tried to make something work, and I realized I don't have to search for what I already have at home."
Victoria saying what she had been searching for was already at home appeared to be a nod to Teddy, whom she clearly must have still had feelings for at the time.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
ADVERTISEMENT
"The fact of the matter is Victoria P. has a current boyfriend and no one else knows, so her pursuing James here is just so she can get a rose. And it's actually all a playbook," Tammy alleged.
"Victoria P. wants to find her next victim so she can break his heart and then have him follow her back to Nashville and have her little country-singer boyfriend on TV too."
Tammy claimed Victoria was "using" James" before warning the bachelor that he was being "played" and his connection with Victoria wasn't genuine.
"She was like, 'My guy, what's his name again? Tim? Whatever?' Victoria said that," Tammy explained to James.
"I was like, 'Weren't you literally making out with him last night? How do you not remember his name?! Now she's over here, like, 'Give me a rose!' That's rose-chasing to me, and you don't mean anything to her."
Fellow The Bachelor 24 alum Kelsey Weier, who also lives in Nashville, said she hangs out in a similar social circle as Victoria and could attest to Victoria dating someone back home going into Paradise.
Kelsey called Victoria's behavior in Paradise "disrespectful," but Victoria subsequently denied having a boyfriend back home during a sitdown conversation with James.
"No, I do not have a boyfriend back home," Victoria insisted.
"I dated someone from February until, like, May -- and him and I broke up before I got here. He encouraged me to step into this with an open heart, and that's what I did. And I wish him well, he's great."
Tammy, who said she had "receipts" to prove her allegations, said Victoria wasn't being honest and "no one [is] filled with more lies or deceit than Victoria P."
Victoria said she was upset Kelsey and Tammy didn't approach her first before warning James about something she claimed wasn't true, and Victoria decided to leave Paradise and get away from all the drama.
Once Victoria left, James said he felt "fooled" by her.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Home is place where I'm accepted. Valued. Heard. Seen. Loved. Understood. It's a place I can be all of me, surrounded by people who love me the way Jesus does," Victoria captioned an Instagram video on Monday.
"Since you're here, please remember to be kind to the cast members of The Bachelor franchise -- each of them more beautiful than anything you'll see on your screens."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Interested in more The Bachelor news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
