Television August 29, 2017
Corinne Olympios Speaks Out on ‘Horrible Blackout’ in ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ Scandal
Reality star Corinne Olympios is finally telling her side of the story about what went down between DeMario Jackson and herself on “Bachelor in Paradise.”
On Tuesday, Olympios made an appearance on “Good Morning America,” where she opened up on the controversial night with Jackson. She said, "I really don't remember much — at all. I remember nothing from, you know, the situation and... it was just really unfortunate.”
"I did drink, you know, too much," she revealed. "I definitely understand that. But I was also on a medication that, you know, severely blacks you out and impairs your judgment and, you know, messes with your balance, that I didn't know you were supposed to not drink on. And so it really just caused a horrible, horrible blackout, and I just, it was like I went under, like, anesthesia and then just, like, woke up.”
EXCLUSIVE: @CorinneOly in her first live interview. What she says really happened on set of #BachelorInParadise. https://t.co/jGJ0mfxdGD pic.twitter.com/2HbpyKdJb6
@GMA
At the time of the scandal, Olympios called herself a “victim,” but what did she mean by that? The 24-year-old elaborated, saying, "I was a victim of, you know, just being blown into the media and, you know, having people make these crazy, you know, assumptions and judgments about what happened that day, and, you know, I was really a victim of the media. It was just... all of a sudden people became an expert on the situation and on what happened, and it's like, 'Well, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what happened,' and... it was just horrible to deal with."
After an investigation was completed, concluding that there was no sexual assault, production on “Bachelor in Paradise” resumed. The show even aired some footage of Corinne and DeMario's meeting. She said, "I've seen some of the footage, yeah. 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.”
As for how she is living life after the scandal, Corinne shared, "I definitely am weaning off that medication. I don't wanna be taking something that, you know, it was very scary what happened. And I, you know, cut down the drinking. And... yeah."
"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,” she added.
Just two days before her “GMA” appearance, Corinne partied it up at the Republic Records VMA after-party at TAO in Los Angeles.
Corinne and DeMario have not spoken since production was briefly halted, but she said, "I wish him well. There's no bad blood there. I wish him well. Always.”
Olympios is set to sit down with Chris Harrison to speak about the controversy tonight. Last week, Harrison sat down with DeMario, who broke down in tears while reflecting on what happened.