Bachie’s Tahnee 100% Stands By What She Said About Jay & Called *Her* The ‘Bald-Faced Liar’

Tahnee, The Bachelor Australia

Well, last night’s episode of The Bachelor Australia was… a lot. Not only did we say goodbye to Steph Lynch, but to Tahnee Leeson too after the latter got into quite the public spat with Jay Lal over a rumour. Whether or not the rumour is in fact a rumour depends on who you’re talking to.

Long story, short: Tahnee told Jimmy Nicholson that she heard Jay say something along the lines of, ‘I want to be the runner-up because I’ve heard they do better.’ Jay was pissed and confronted Tahnee about it in front of the other women. Jay cried, Tahnee cried, and then Jimmy inevitably sent Tahnee home because he has a stronger connection with Jay.

But, Tahnee is sure she heard what she heard.

PEDESTRIAN.TV chatted to Tahnee about last night’s drama, and here’s what she had to say.

PEDESTRIAN.TV: Did you watch last night’s episode? 

Tahnee Leeson: I did.

PTV: Can you talk me through what happened with the whole ‘runner-up’ thing, from your side?

TL: Yeah, so I still 100 per cent stand by what I said. I absolutely didn’t lie with everything that I relayed to Jimmy. It was a hard one to watch, I knew it was going to be quite confronting – it’s never nice to be called a liar, least of all when you know you’re not lying. So, yeah, it was an intense thing to kind of relive. But I still stand by everything I said.

PTVAnd did you think Jay was going to confront you? 

TL: To be fair, I wasn’t surprised that she confronted me. I was more surprised how she did it. She kind of – it’s unfortunate because it’s not shown, but I wasn’t the only one that had said something to Jimmy about Jay. But I was kind of the one that copped the brunt of it, which at the end of the day, I don’t mind. Um, but I don’t know – I would never call a woman out in such a group setting, when it’s kind of like a one-on-one thing, if that’s how she felt. Um, but yeah, it’s a shame that it was portrayed that it was a rumour when it really wasn’t a rumour, because I didn’t actually speak to any other woman in the mansion about it. It’s a shame but I stand by it.

PTV: With Jay being so confident that she didn’t say those things, did that make you doubt yourself?

TL: No, it didn’t. It made me quite terrified that she either has amnesia or just is a bald-faced liar, for lack of a better word. I’m not surprised because in her position, she did have a really great connection with Jimmy at that stage, so I can understand why – but it’s not in my nature to lie. I am a terrible liar and I really struggle with the concept of lying, but everyone’s different.

PTV: Does it still bug you that people may think you’re a liar or, like, it is what it is?

TL: Look, to be fair. The audience is encouraged to like Jay, they’ve seen a lot her. She’s a lovely girl, so it’s natural that they’re going to be bought into her and less bought into me, having not seen much of me. So I can understand that people are going to be pointing the finger, calling me a liar because they like the character that Jay is on the show. So I do understand. But at the end of the day, I’m not a liar, and it’s never nice to be called something that you’re not. So, yeah, I’m prepared that there’s going to be a bit of negativity, I’m just relying on the fact that I know I didn’t lie. So I’ve just got to take it on the chin.

PTVAre we missing something about Jay? Is she different on camera?

TL: Yeah, look, initially in the first half of the experience that I was there, Jay was lovely, Jay was really sincere. She came across really sweet, but – I think that as she got more comfortable with her connection, perhaps, or just being in the one environment and letting her guard down a bit, there were definitely cracks starting to form that I noticed. Sort of like halfway through, so I don’t know if she was letting her guard down and the “bad” stuff was kind of coming out, or what it was necessarily. At the end of the day, I don’t really have anything bad to say about the girl, aside from the fact that she did call me a liar when I wasn’t lying. But if she is the one that ends up with Jimmy and they end up happy then I can only be happy for him.

PTVAnd have you spoken to Jay since?

TL: No, and I don’t plan to [laughs].

You know what? There’s one thing I hold above all else, and it’s my integrity. And when that’s questioned so publicly, in a group setting obviously, but on national TV. That, for me, that’s an unforgivable thing.

The Bachelor Australia airs 7.30pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays on Channel 10.

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