Entertainment

DeMario's 'Bachelor In Paradise' Interview Was So Emotional

by Kayla Hawkins
Paul Hebert/ABC

DeMario Jackson appeared on Bachelor in Paradise in order to talk about the allegations of sexual misconduct during the filming of the first episode, and to share his side of the story. (An investigation into the claims found no wrongdoing and filming resumed following a brief hiatus.) For most of his appearance, DeMario stayed as composed as host Chris Harrison, but after a montage of press and interviews with different outlets reporting the alleged misconduct, DeMario cried on Bachelor in Paradise over what he said has been a harrowing experience. "It was nuts. I remember at one point ... I was exhausted. Mentally, physically," he said.

Getting more visibly emotional, DeMario said, "Michelle Obama said, 'When they go low, you go high.' It was hard to go high, but I train and mentor children, and I can't tell them to be something that I'm not." But even though the news was, he claimed, sharing information he felt was untrue, he received a lot of support from his former costars. He said, "It was crazy to see the response." The people he talked to the most? "Alexis, Raven, I facetimed Taylor every single day," he said. Raven and Jasmine, who were in the audience, defended DeMario in a segment of their own earlier in the episode. Fans of the show also seemed sympathetic.

When Chris Harrison mentioned his mother, DeMario began to openly cry, saying, "I love my mom more than anything in this world, seeing her cry every day ... it was difficult. I had to make her deactivate everything because she was going to war, defending me ... it sucked." As for Corinne, DeMario said, "You know my main thing for her is that I wish we could have spoke. I felt bad for her because she was being slut shamed ... It just hurt me knowing she was going through the same thing as I was ... but a little bit more intense."

Ultimately, though, DeMario said with the help of "Family, friends, and Kanye West," he's recovering from the ordeal and he still seems to have the full support of many of his former costars on the show today.