"Love Is Blind" season 2 star Natalie Lee is sharing her side of the story about her relationship with ex-fiancé, Shayne Jansen.
Lee is speaking out after Jansen spoke with Nick Viall on his podcast, “The Viall Files," earlier this week. During the episode, he told Nick his side of the story as to why the couple, who got engaged and then broke off their engagement on their wedding day, ultimately didn't work out — putting much of the blame on Lee.
Jansen explained that the fight they had before their wedding — which played a large role in Lee calling it off — happened when the women on the show decided to join the men for their bachelor party, which wasn't aired. Jansen noted that Lee had a problem with how much he was drinking that night, even though she never said anything about his alcohol intake before.
"She starts calling me out for some of the things that I'm doing ... like drinking too much. But I wasn't arguing with anyone at the time. I wasn't doing anything wrong," Jansen said.
Jansen then told Lee that he "couldn't do this anymore," which he now says was a little "overdramatic." However, he told Viall that the reaction was due to weeks of built-up emotions from off-screen events.
"She would always pick and pick, pick, pick little things that I did wrong and never appreciate anything that I did right for her all the time," Jansen said, mentioning that Lee would "script" their conversations on-camera to "a certain extent."
“We always had talks about what she wanted to say, about what we wanted to do all the time. And I’m like, ‘Dude, this is not how I operate,” he continued.
Lee was "shocked" after hearing Jansen's interview with Viall and responded with a lengthy statement on her Instagram Stories on Wednesday to "clear up" a few things.
"Regarding the comment about me 'scripting' our conversations: I never told Shayne what to say nor did we ever discuss or plan what to say in certain scenes," Lee wrote. "I did, however, set boundaries with filming — specifically I asked him to not drink alcohol before 'serious' scenes and to not share in-depth details of our intimacy out of respect for my family. I know he found this frustrating; the latter is what led to our fight in Mexico."
During the podcast interview, Jansen also talked about the first time he met Shaina Hurley, who he bonded with in the pods but ultimately felt a stronger connection with Lee.
Jansen said they both had to "confront" Hurley in relation to their love triangle because "the show wanted that to happen" and also in order to "protect" them as a couple. But after Jansen had what he described a "fantastic" conversation, when it was time for Lee to talk to Hurley, she refused to do so.
"I stuck up for (Lee and his relationship) and all that kind of stuff and once our conversation was over, it was her turn to have a conversation with Shaina and when they were about to sit down, she ran away. Legit ran," Jansen recalled.
Lee addressed that comment as well in her Instagram Story.
"I did not run from my conversation with Shaina on the beach — I had the conversation with her but it did not air. All the cast members were present for this scene, including Shayne," Lee responded. "I was frustrated with Shayne that day because I heard he said something negative about me behind my back to one of the cast members when I was a few feet away, and I let him know I thought it was disrespectful."
Before he did his interview with Viall, Lee says that Jansen allegedly said he "was going to bury" her and "drag" her down with him on the podcast because she "ended any chance of reconciliation" and "didn't speak highly enough of him in the media." For that reason, she called Jansen a "disgusting" person.
Lee also wanted to clear the air that she dated Jansen "twice" after their wedding and not "four times," like he said in his interview.
"We rekindled the weekend we filmed the reunion episode, but decided to keep the door closed. Recently we met up to discuss the possibility of reconciliation but ultimately agreed not to date until he changed some of his behaviors," she wrote. "A few days later, I fully closed the door for any type of reconciliation after discovering some lies he told me."
Lastly, Lee wanted fans to know that the "major" reason she called it quits with Jansen is because he was exchanging "very flirtatious messages between him and other women."
"His hangout with Shaina during the premiere of the show is NOT the reason," Lee said.