Not all love stories on season 2 of Netflix’sLove Is Blindhad afairy tale ending— butDeepti Vempati’s certainly had an empowering one.
After her fiancéAbhishek “Shake” Chatterjee, whom she met in the dating pods and became engaged to sight unseen, continuously spoke about how much he cared for her but was not attracted to her, Deepti, 31, chose herself on their wedding day and opted not to marry the 33-year-old DJ and veterinarian.
“I was extremely nervous. You should’ve seen me in my wedding suite. I was literally just pacing back and forth,” she tells PEOPLE. “At the time, I’m thinking, ‘This is my best friend, I don’t want to lose him,’ but at the same time, I cannot accept the things that he’s done and said.”
Deepti adds with a smile, “It was a very empowering moment. And that’s why you see me kind of smiling at the altar, too, because I’m very, very happy with my decision.”
Netflix
Whatever friendship Deepti and Shake may have built during their time on the show appears to be long gone as well.
“I tried to stay friends with him, but I just realized that we have to go our separate ways,” she says. “I don’t agree with the way that he talks to people, and honestly, who he is as a person. I really am not a fan.”
“He showed his true colors more after filming his wrap,” Deepti adds. “We’re not in touch.”
On Tuesday, Shake — who tells PEOPLE his current relationship status is “self-focused” — posted a video onInstagramsaying that while he continues to work on himself and “get better” in certain aspects of his life, he doesn’t regret the way in which he behaved on the reality series.
“One thing I don’t feel inclined to do is to pretend I’m sad or sorry about certain things — certain things that were out of my control, certain things that I can’t necessarily even speak out,” he said. “I’m just not going to do that.I’m not sorry.”
Shake on Love Is Blind.Netflix
“I think I handled the situation as best as anybody in my situation could,” he added. “And at the end of the day, I’m going to live my best life going forward. And you don’t have to like me. Only I have to like me, thankfully. And that’s real life.”
His video came after Deepti’s brother and sister-in-law called out Shake ina scathing Instagram post, referring to him as a clown (via clown emoji) and “a loser”. They also applauded their sibling’s strength.
ADAM ROSE/NETFLIX
It’s that strong family bond that Deepti believes was the best thing to come out of her experience onLove Is Blind.
“This entire process made me a lot closer to my family, even though we’re very close anyways,” she explains. “My favorite moment ever was when we were sitting at dinner when Shake is with us. My parents really don’t talk about intimacy. I’ve never seen them kiss before, and for my mom to outwardly say how much my dad means to her and that she loves him in that way was — honestly, I was tearing up.”
“The entire family was tearing up,” she continues. “Obviously it’s unspoken but in the Asian community, especially in India, you don’t really talk about intimacy in that way. I just thought it was such a beautiful and powerful moment.”
Season 2 ofLove Is Blindis streaming now on Netflix.
source: people.com
