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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Maria Georgas defended herself after The Bachelorette’s Jenn Tran revealed her ex-fiance Devin Strader followed Georgas on Instagram.
After a bombshell Bachelorette finale in which Tran – this season’s lead – revealed that her ex-fiancé not only ended their engagement over the phone but also followed the former contestant she was compared to all season, viewers flooded Georgas’ comment section in droves. With comments ranging from accusing Georgas of being a homewrecker to others defending her honor, the 30-year-old executive assistant took it upon herself to clear the air with a TikTok video.
“Last night was hard to watch, and my heart goes out to Jenn,” she began. “I can’t speak on her relationship. The only two people who can speak on her relationship are her and Devin.”
“I’m over coming to defense for my character,” the former Bachelor contestant continued. “I know who I am and my friends and family know who I am. The fact that I had you guys watch me through a screen and still be able to see how real I was, I have no words. I understand Jenn having to speak up about it – say your piece, girlfriend, I respect it. I just think without the full context, it leads people to believe a whole different narrative.”
Although Georgas confirmed that Strader had followed her, she explained that she hadn’t paid much attention to it. Unbeknownst to her, Strader’s follow seemingly came a day after he brutally ended his engagement to The Bachelorette lead over the phone.
“I had no clue about that until people brought it to my attention,” she clarified. “And by that time, when I found out, he had unfollowed. Let me clear the air on something: I have never met Devin before.”
After Tran revealed during the special that he had gone “clubbing” with fellow Bachelorette contestant Jeremy Simon the night after their split. With videos circulated of Simon and Georgas clubbing with former Bachelorette lead Charity Lawson, many fans had assumed that Strader and Georgas had met.
“I never went clubbing out with [Devin],” Georgas explained. “He did his own thing. Did I go out with Jeremy – a night with friends, a bunch of us together? Yes, I did.”
“I can’t control who follows who,” Georgas reiterated. “But what I can control is what I do about it. And what I’m doing is not following back. And I never followed back.”
She added, “Now seeing how things transpired, I will never follow that man.”
She maintained that she will continue to defend her character and that of others no matter what.
“My character, my innocence, my peace is important to me. And I will not f*** that up for no one,” she added. “Just because [Jenn and I] separated our ways and are no longer friends doesn’t mean we hate each other.”
She concluded, “It doesn’t mean that if someone is going to disrespect her in my face that I’m going to sit here and stand for it. Because I’m not. I’m just a regular person who went on a reality TV show. Stop holding me to a standard that doesn’t exist.”
Both Georgas and Tran competed on Joey Graziadei’s season of The Bachelor, with Tran ultimately being selected as The Bachelorette.
