Deepti Vempati knows she made the right choice by saying “I don’t” to Abhishek “Shake” Chatterjee at the altar.
The “Love Is Blind” star reflected on her engagement to the veterinarian in a new interview with Page Six, admitting it’s been difficult to see just how “disrespectful” her ex-fiancé was behind her back.
“We talked about how we struggled with the intimacy part of our relationship but watching it back was hard,” she confessed. “It was tough [to see] the way he was talking about me.”
After proposing to Deepti sight unseen in the pods, Shake had no shame in making it clear to his co-stars, friends and family members that he wasn’t sexually attracted to her – despite their strong emotional bond.
Shake at one point said he was going to have to drink in order to try to get intimate with Deepti, and even compared her to his “aunt” to reiterate their lack of intimacy.
Then, in a conversation with his family, Shake’s own mother told him Deepti deserved better after hearing the way he spoke about her when she wasn’t around.
“Some of the things he said were just completely disrespectful, even to a friend,” Deepti told Page Six. “So, yeah, it’s been tough watching it back but I’m trying to put it in the past and just move forward.”
Deepti revealed she isn’t dating anyone at the moment but still has hopes in finding her soulmate someday.
“I’m kind of focusing on myself, but I’m so open to like – if I meet someone organically and naturally, I just happen to stumble upon them, I’m not going to deny that,” she explained.
For now, she said she’s taking in all of the love and support she’s received from fans, especially those who’ve been through similar situations.
“I’ve been getting so much love from around the world. Just people taking the time out to write me long, sweet messages, saying how much they resonate with me,” she told us. “It’s been so overwhelming and beautiful so far. As tough as it is to also watch it back, I’m trying to focus on the good parts.”
Shake has received plenty of criticism from viewers ever since Season 2 dropped on Netflix. However, in a video posted to Instagram earlier this week, he said he had no regrets about his behavior.
“One thing I don’t feel inclined to do is pretend I’m sad or sorry about certain things — certain things that were out of my control, certain things that I can’t necessarily even speak about. I’m just not going to do that. I’m not sorry,” he said at the time.
“I think I handled the situation as best as anybody in my situation could. And at the end of the day, I’m going to live my best life going forward. And you don’t have to like me. Only I have to like me, thankfully. And that’s real life.”
Shake also didn’t hold back when co-host Nick Lachey put him in the hot seat during the intense reunion.
“What you’re looking for sounds to me like the conventional dating world,” the 98 Degrees singer said. “So what were you missing in the conventional dating world that you felt like you could find here?”
Shake insisted he wanted “the emotional connection, everything we know the show is supposed to do.”
“But there’s also certain criteria there that goes beyond the emotional connection,” he argued. “Love is not purely blind to me.”
The “Love Is Blind” Season 2 reunion is streaming now on Netflix.