Following the season two reunion of “Love Is Blind,” cast member Abhishek “Shake” Chatterjee is apologizing to Deepti Vempati, his ex-fiancée, for the comments he made about her during the show.
Chatterjee posted a video on Instagram addressing his behavior toward Vempati while filming. “I wanted to take this opportunity to really just say sorry to a woman that I know I hurt,” he started.
"Deepti, I am truly sorry for some of the things that I said. Things that honestly just could have been left unsaid or could have been said differently. Things that never should have been on national television," he continued.
Chatterjee also noted in his caption that he directly reached out to Vempati as well to apologize.
“I’m sorry, @lifewithdeeps. I’m ready to take accountability for my actions and be better,” he wrote in his Instagram post. “While I’ve reached out privately, I think it’s also important I apologize publicly for the sake of your family and friends that I’ve upset as well.”
Chatterjee has come under fire by many fans for his treatment of Vempati on the show. He appeared to ask questions about her weight in the pods and talked to other people behind her back throughout the series about how he was not physically attracted to her.
In his apology video, Chatterjee said he regrets hurting Vempati.
“During the time that we were filming, you were my best friend,” he said. “And even though I knew our relationship wasn’t going to end in marriage, I didn’t want what we had to end, either. I loved every second of it. And I’m so, so sorry that I hurt you with my words. That’s the last thing that I wanted from all this. I’m sorry.”
Chatterjee sparked outrage with his behavior during the recent “Love Is Blind” reunion episode, as he doubled down on his views about physical attraction and compared choosing a wife to “making a huge purchase.”
Even hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey got into the mix, calling out Chatterjee for his provocative comments.
“I don’t like people who treat human beings the way you do,” Nick said at one point. “It’s wrong."
Vempati also had the chance to share her feelings with Chatterjee during the reunion, calling his past comments “degrading to women.”
“I just want to say it’s OK to not be physically attracted to somebody … it’s the way you go about life, it’s how you do it, it’s how you say it, that’s extremely disrespectful,” she said.
Vempati has not appeared to respond publicly to Chatterjee’s recent apology.
A few hours after he shared the video, she posted her own Instagram photo in honor of International Women’s Day. Alongside a photo of herself looking reflective, she shared a quote attributed to writer G.D. Anderson.
“Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong,” the quote reads. “It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.”