Corinne Olympios on Bachelor in Paradise Scandal: "I Was Really a Victim of the Media"

Corinne Olympios broke her silence about the incident that shut down Bachelor in Paradise for the first time on Good Morning America on Tuesday morning

By Zach Johnson Aug 29, 2017 12:30 PMTags
Corinne Olympios, Bachelor in ParadiseBob D'Amico/ABC

Corinne Olympios is ready to tell her side of the story. 

Ahead of her sitdown with Chris Harrison on tonight's episode of Bachelor in Paradise, Corinne appeared on Good Morning America Tuesday to break her silence for the first time on the production shutdown stemming from her sexual encounter with DeMario Jackson. Production resumed over the summer without Jackson and Olympios, as production found no evidence of misconduct.

"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. Asked about the night in question, she said, "I really don't remember much at all. I remember nothing from the situation and...it was just really unfortunate."

Looking back, "I did drink too much," Olympios confessed. "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."

During the investigation, Olympios was able to piece together some of the night.

"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."

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Since the incident, Olympios has been taking steps to ensure her safety. "I definitely am weaning off that medication. I don't want to be taking something that...you know, it was very scare what happened," she said. "I cut down the drinking. And...yeah."

After production went on hiatus and she returned to the U.S., Olympios issued a statement saying she was a "victim." Asked to explain what she meant, the reality star said, "I was a victim of, you know, just being blown into the media and having people make these crazy, you know, assumptions and judgments about what happened that day. You know, 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."

The online bullying and tabloid stories "got really, really bad," she added. "It got a lot better, but the things people say are just insane."

Olympios doesn't blame producers "at all" for what happened. "I would hope that if a producer, you know, saw anything that they were uncomfortable with with anyone, they would do the proper investigations." In fact, she said, "I'm super thankful."

As for Jackson, whom she has not spoken to since production ended, Olympios said, "I wish him well. There's no bad blood there. I wish him well. Always."

Michael Yada/ABC

Last week, Jackson sat down with Harrison to tell his side of the story and what he dealt with in the weeks following the production shut down,including being hounded by reporters.

"I know who I am," he said. "I know I'm not that monster that they're trying to portray on TV. Like Michelle Obama said, when they go low, you go high. It was hard to go high, but I had to do it because I train and mentor children, and I can't tell them to be something that I'm not. That kept me going." 

Olympios' sitdown with Harrison airs tonight as part of Bachelor in Paradise's two-hour episode at 8 p.m. on ABC.