Opening up.
Bachelor Nation fans got to know Zoe McGrady on Season 29 of “The Bachelor,” where she looked for love with Grant Ellis.
Early on in the experience, Zoe found herself at the center of some drama when she stole Grant away during their basketball date.
Now, Zoe stopped by the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast and got candid about the drama and whether she was really “not here to make friends.”
While she wasn’t at the “Women Tell All,” she told co-hosts Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt, “I don’t have any issues with anyone on that stage. Alli Jo is allowed to speak her piece; she was the one that was involved, so I don’t mind that. There was another girl that didn’t need to give her 2 cents and didn’t need to speak her truth. I don’t appreciate that.”
And when it came to those who defended her while she wasn’t there, like Sarafiena, Zoe said, “People don’t always want to put a target on their back, so people who did agree with me maybe don’t want to speak up because they don’t want to get involved in the drama.”
Since the show has wrapped, Zoe said she is actually friends with most of the girls and the “narrative” that she wasn’t there to make friends was “incorrect.”
Zoe explained why it took her longer to connect with the other women, saying, “I am a very reserved person. I have been through very tough things in life and I have dealt with situations where it wasn’t good to be open and vulnerable. I think going into a place like this, we are all competing for the same guy, it’s not my natural instinct to go in and want to be best friends with all of you and be fake. That’s not me.”
And over time, she said, “When I got to know people genuinely, then I became real friends with them and I do love them and want to support them. I’m so glad that we were all in this process together. If my biggest flaw is being reserved and keeping to myself, I’ll take that.”
Serena asked when that shift happened for her and Zoe said after that first group date, she intentionally didn’t steal Grant away during the second group date or even sit right next to him.
She explained that when people realized that she wasn’t intending any harm or drama, she was able to connect more as her true self.
We love hearing more from Zoe and can’t wait to see her on “Bachelor in Paradise” this summer!
Check out her full episode of “Bachelor Happy Hour” below.
