The “Bachelor in Paradise” set was mired in controversy this summer, and the woman at the centre of it all, Corinne Olympios, is finally opening up about her experience.
The controversy occurred after production was halted on the show due to a producer filing a complaint of sexual misconduct between Olympios and cast member DeMario Jackson. An investigation found no misconduct.
RELATED: DeMario Jackson Calls ‘Bachelor In Paradise’ Scandal ‘The Worst Day Of My Entire Life’
Now Olympios is telling her side of the story and sharing her thoughts on what it was like to be caught up in a media firestorm.
“I have definitely taken my time to, you know, deal with everything, heal, and you know, I just felt, you know, laying low was really the best thing for me to do. So, I’m definitely doing better,” Olympios said on “Good Morning America”, adding, “I really don’t remember much at all. I remember nothing from the situation and…it was just really unfortunate.”
As Olympios explains, she had been blacked out due to a combination of prescription medication and alcohol. “I did drink too much,” Olympios said. “I definitely understand that. But I was also on a medication that severely blacks you out and impairs your judgment and messes with your balance. But I didn’t know you were not supposed to drink on. And so I really just caused a horrible, horrible blackout. It was like I went under anesthesia and just woke up.”
The on-set investigation helped Olympios clear up some of what had happened. “I’ve seen some of the footage, yeah,” she said. “And, obviously, I watched the first episode… It’s like I’m watching not me. I’m watching someone else. I was, like, in shock.”
“I definitely am weaning off that medication,” Olympios said. “I don’t want to be taking something that… you know, it was very scary what happened. I cut down the drinking.”
Olympios also has a bone to pick with the way the media covered the incident. “I was a victim of, you know, just being blown into the media and having people make these crazy assumptions and judgments about what happened that day,” she said. “I was really a victim of the media. All of a sudden people became an expert on the situation and what happened, and it’s like, ‘Well, I’m still trying to figure out what happened.’ It was just horrible to deal with.”
Meanwhile, Olympios does not blame her producers at all, saying, “I would hope that if a producer saw anything that they were uncomfortable with with anyone, they would do the proper investigations. I’m super thankful.”
As for Jackson, Olympios said only, “I wish him well. There’s no bad blood there. I wish him well. Always.”
Jackson sat down for an interview with ET Canada last week, in which he called the day the scandal broke, “the worst day of my entire life.”
Olympios will sit down for an interview with “Bachelor” host Chris Harrison during Tuesday night’s episode.
