Blake Monar is sharing with Bachelor In Paradise fans his side of an intense conversation with Tia Booth, who accused him of not fighting to receive her rose. Though many viewers racked their brains to remember Blake from Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams' season of The Bachelorette, he and Tia recently shared an unforgettably dramatic moment as they heatedly discussed why Blake wasn't showing his affection through cute gestures. Tia quickly took to social media to provide some background context on the situation and now, Blake is responding.
When "Tatty Daddy" Blake arrived on the beach, Tia was instantly smitten. Despite James Bonsall vying for her attention, Tia was drawn to Blake's tattoos and "bad boy" persona. With the girls in charge of distributing roses, it was basically a given that Tia's would go to Blake. However, after James crafted a sweet mini date and inquired about her hometown, Tia realized that Blake wasn't putting in the same effort. When Tia called him out on this, their talk escalated seemingly out of nowhere. Afterward, Tia shared on Instagram how Blake refused to set up a date for her like the other men because he felt it was all "fake for TV."
Nearly a week later, Blake responded to Tia's account of what happened in Paradise. He said, "Since her story insinuated malice, let's clear things up." According to Blake, Tia's recap was "misquoted and certainly paraphrased," but mostly true. He admitted to his dislike of "having production set up gestures on your behalf," which he deemed "wildly unromantic." However, he intended to show his interest through "other acts of service." Blake added, "I wanted to see if something genuine could blossom so early on with real conversations about love, life, and family. I was there to build a connection, not just plan gestures solely due to a request to do so for a favorable 'edit' or so 'someone doesn't look like a fool.'"
Meanwhile, on Tia's page, she didn't acknowledge Blake's statement in any way. She posted about her return to the gym and excitement over her Halloween decorations, but nothing about her Paradise love interest. Last week's episode concluded with many cliffhangers, including who will be the recipient of Tia's rose. The majority of viewers are pulling for La Jolla, California's James, who seems to be there for the right reasons but has awful luck at finding the right woman. While Tia blatantly stated that she's more attracted to Blake, it's likely that attraction has worn off a bit. Still, it's always possible she'll keep Blake around another week to see if they can resolve their differences.
Since this is Tia's second go-around on Paradise, fans hope she'll follow her heart rather than her "china pot." In season 5, Tia fell for former The Bachelor lead Colton Underwood but left the beach heartbroken after he ended the relationship with the classic "it's not you, it's me" line. In this instance, the statement proved to be true since Colton later came out as gay. The next episode will surely be jam-packed with drama. In addition to Tia's difficult decision, it will be revealed what happened between Ivan Hall and Aaron Clancy's love interest, Chelsea Vaughn, during the cast's brief stay at a hotel when a torrential storm hit.
Bachelor In Paradise airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Source: Blake Monar/Instagram