“I Didn’t Lie”: Tahnee From ‘The Bachelor’ Stands By Her Claims About Jay
Tahnee Leeson exited The Bachelor after a dramatic and emotional camping cocktail party, that saw her pitted against fan favourite Jay Lal in a “she said, she said” drama.
In another double episode, we saw the first hints of drama when Jimmy approached Tahnee at one cocktail party, asking her for her opinions on whether any of the women were pulling the wool over his eyes after his mother hinted that one woman (Steph) wasn’t over her ex.
Tahnee confirmed to Jimmy that there had been whisperings in the house of Steph talking about her ex, before telling him that she overheard Jay say to a crew member that she’d rather become runner-up because the runner-ups are more successful, a claim Jay vehemently denied.
We spoke to Tahnee about her time on The Bachelor, whether she stands by what she said about Jay, and what shocked her most about watching the show back.
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On last night’s drama:
“I knew that last night’s episode would be a hard one to watch. Obviously our conversation – Jimmy and mine – wasn’t shown in its entirety, but I stand by everything I said to Jimmy that evening. I didn’t lie, it’s not nice to be called a liar. I still stand by it, it’s 100% true.”
“We’re not allowed to speak to Jimmy, once it all wraps up I look forward to speaking to him because he and I had a really amazing friendship and I’m looking forward to continuing that. Jay and I, we haven’t spoken – there’s no bad blood but I don’t plan on speaking to her.”
On standing by her claims about Jay and Jay saying Tahnee would do anything to win:
“So there was a handful of things Jay had said, in front of me and in front of different people. There was more than one comment. The things I overheard were true, I didn’t fabricate them, I didn’t make any of them up.”
“You know what? It’s not a game show, there’s no winner. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not that kind of person. I’m not a vindictive person and I’m certainly not a liar. My intention when I had that conversation with Jimmy was not to drag Jay down. I was in a position where I had a choice to either protect somebody I don’t have a friendship with or be completely honest to the guy I am trying to form something with. For me, it was a no brainer between those two options.”
On the divided opinions in the house about Holly:
“I physically ycouldn’t disagree with [the other girls’] opinions about Holly more. I speak to Holly every single day, she is the most compassionate, beautiful, caring woman that I’ve ever met. She has a heart of gold. She has very saracstic banter that maybe rubs people the wrong way, but so do I. She’s nothing but a beautiful soul.”
On watching the show back and what surprised her the most:
“For the most part, it’s been really true to how different things happened. The only thing that surprised me was Steph. The different sides to that woman I’ve seen – you can tell by how I’m talking right now – I’ve been shocked by it. In the mansion she was really lovely when you got her one on one, but the moment the cameras were out and Jimmy was there it was a completely different girl. Seeing her interviews played out on the show and seeing what she was saying behind closed doors, I’m actually baffled.
There have been so many instances where she’s like hand on heart I didn’t say that and it shows her saying it. I just don’t understand how people can lie so easily, it blows my mind.”
On Steph and her ex:
“I didn’t hear her (talk about her ex) first hand, but from day one there were some whispers about Steph’s ex. When it comes up and resurfaces, it’s obvious she’s saying bits here and there. The big one for me was what she said on night one in front of Lily – the ‘I’ll just go back to my ex if this falls through’ thing.”
On what she learned about herself because of going on The Bachelor:
“I have learned that it’s OK to be vulnerable and it’s OK to want a serious relationship. I think we’re in a society where if a woman wants to settle down, it’s a scary thing. But I’m 28 now and I do want to get married, and settle down, and have children and I think that it’s really big to be able to say that out loud and it shouldn’t be a major thing. I’m excited to come out of lockdown and go into the world with a newfound confidence.”
And on what she wants fans of The Bachelor franchise to know:
“It’s important to know you’re watching a one hour episode, you’re not seeing full conversations, you’re not seeing everything that goes on. It’s OK to have your favourite character, but to just take it all with a grain of salt. At the end of the day it’s a TV show and it’s being dramatised. You’re being groomed to feel a certain way, you don’t have to write nasty comments online just because your favourite character has had something bad said about them.”