Maria Georgas defends herself after ‘Bachelorette’ Jenn Tran calls out ex Devin Strader’s Instagram follow
“Bachelor” alum Maria Georgas vehemently denied playing a role in “Bachelorette” lead Jenn Tran’s breakup from Devin Strader.
During the “After the Final Rose” special Tuesday, Tran called out her ex-fiancé for following Georgas on Instagram just one day after he ended their engagement over the phone.
Georgas — who competed on Joey Graziadei’s season alongside Tran earlier this year — took to TikTok Thursday to address her name being brought up as well as rumors that she reciprocated Strader’s interest.
“Hearing my name, I understand Jenn having to speak up about it. Say your piece, girlfriend, I respect it. I just think that without the full context, it leads people to believe a whole different narrative,” she began a five-and-a-half-minute video message.
Georgas, 30, confirmed Strader, 28, followed her on Instagram but was adamant that she does “not pay attention” to who keeps up with her on the app.
“Until people brought it to my attention, I didn’t know, and by that time, when I found out, he had unfollowed,” she claimed.
The former reality TV star reiterated that it “was a shock” when she heard her name on the show, adding that she “hate[s]” that Tran, 26, had to deal with the drama.
“I can’t control who follows who, but what I can control is what I do about it, and what I’m doing is not following back, and I never followed back, and now seeing how things transpired, I will never follow him. … I have nothing to do with the ending of the relationship,” she doubled down.
Georgas denied ever meeting up with Strader or “clubbing” with him, shutting down online rumors that they had been hanging out in real life.
Georgas did, however, admit to spending some time with Tran’s fourth place contestant, Jeremy Simon, during a “night with friends.”
She expressed her sympathy for the “Bachelorette” star “having to rewatch and relive” the whole ordeal.
“You gotta commend Jenn on how she handled things. She did it like a true ‘Bachelorette,’ and for that, kudos to you,” Georgas said.
She ended her video by asking everyone to put the drama “to rest” and “move forward from all of this.”
Tran made history when she became the first female lead to propose to a male winner, but her engagement lasted only a few months before Strader called her to break it off and then allegedly “ghosted” her.
“What I can’t understand is everything that you did after we’ve broken our engagement. Ending the engagement on a phone call, and the next day, I wake up to you following girls on Instagram — not just any girl, but Maria,” Tran told Strader during the finale.
Strader admitted he “failed” Tran but maintained that everything he “felt” for her “was real.”
