Love Is Blind‘s Michaella Giorgio and beekeeper Matt Waldrip are breaking down what happened between them off camera following their awkward moment at the season 11 reunion.
“We had very different interpretations of our relationship, and I think that emotions were high at the reunion,” Matt, 37, told Netflix’s Tudum.
When the season 11 cast came together for the reunion special, which debuted Sunday, November 8, Matt revealed he reconnected with Michaella, 35, after she broke off her engagement to Rob Feeley. Matt confessed he fell in love with Michaella, but he ultimately called off their relationship.
Michaella, meanwhile, said the duo never should have been more than friends, claiming Matt’s interpretation was “an exaggeration” of what really happened.
“It was never communicated to me that she wanted to be just friends,” Matt told Tudum. “We were kind of revisiting our connection that we had in the pods that was more than friends. It was really a romantic connection.”
The pair were together for about two months after filming wrapped. “Sometimes two people can share the same experience and walk away with two different memories,” he continued. “My love for her certainly was real during those times we dated.”
Matt pointed out that the distance between them and his role as a single dad provided some challenges. He also claimed they “both cried” when they called it quits.
Michaella, for her part, said Matt was a welcome departure from her relationship with Rob, who “blindsided” her with his behavior outside of the pods. (The pair broke up before their wedding day.)
“What’s great about [me and Matt] is we want the same thing out of life … but I think our journeys to get there are really different,” she told Tudum. “I think that’s kind of why it would never work.”
During the reunion, Michaella denied ever saying she was “in love” with Matt. She did, however, admit she said “I love you” while she was “on mushrooms.”
“That was probably the most hurtful thing she said, because I have no recollection of that,” Matt said after the reunion. “I live a very wholesome life … I’ve never done shrooms. It was almost like she was minimizing or dismissing her feelings for me, which were communicated to me as being very real.”
Matt said he wants the best for Michaella, but he doesn’t “have a desire to reconnect” with her again. Michaella also said she’s looking forward to finding new connections outside of the Love Is Blind world.
“I’m excited to start dating again,” she said. “I know how to be in a relationship. I can do it. I can be a really great partner.”
Love Is Blind is available to stream on Netflix.
