Teddi Wright has been an early frontrunner on Clayton Echard’s season of The Bachelorette and she’s already having to defend herself against certain accusations.
Most recently, former Bachelor Nick Viall discussed his take on Teddi and why he thinks she’s manipulative and ‘playing the game’ on The Bachelor.
Now, Teddi has joined the conversation and directly explained to Nick where she’s coming from and why she disagrees with his assessment of her.
Teddi Wright opens up about her insecurities
Teddi Wright made an appearance on Nick Viall’s podcast The Viall Files to face off against him and his prior comments.
Previously, Nick shared that he felt Teddi was manipulative because she declared she was a virgin but also emphasized she’d be ready to accept a fantasy suite date with Clayton.
Nick also felt Teddi’s performance on the show was contrived because of her claim that she’d been hoping Clayton would be the Bachelor before he was officially announced, and she seemed to rush into having such strong feelings for Clayton when she declared that he’s not like any other guy she’s dated.
Teddi also warned Clayton that she’s going to need validation if he wants her to stick around, so overall Nick felt Teddi was just manipulatively saying the right things in order to make it far on the season.
Teddi hopped on an interview with Nick to explain her side of things, revealing “For me, I wasn’t trying to be manipulative at all, I truly was just insecure.”
Reflecting on her first night with Clayton where she got the first impression rose, Teddi shared, “I think like coming off of that first day I did seem really confident and I remember watching it back and being like ‘Wow I looked a lot more confident than I was feeling in that moment’ and so I can see how going from that first night and then the complete next day being like ‘Oh I don’t think he likes me’ like I can see why it looks like this must not be her because we just saw the day before and I looked like I was running the show. But I really was insecure.”
Teddy says she did genuinely like Clayton and had a fast connection with the leading man. She emphasized she really was there to get married and so that’s why she was so transparent about her needs and desire for validation on the show.
Teddi also expressed that her relationships before Clayton were ‘pretty toxic’ and her past experiences both contributed to her wanting validation from Clayton and also appreciating Clayton’s non-argumentative passion.
Teddi Wright doesn’t regret opening up about her virginity
Viall felt Teddi’s declaration of being a virgin in the premiere was potentially a calculated confession to stand out, however, Teddi has no regrets about telling the world of her virginity.
Teddi shared, “I never regretted saying that I was a virgin and I never will regret talking about fantasy suites and potentially going. I am not like a stereotypical virgin. I am very open and honest about sex and I am a sexual person, I just had a boundary in college that I no longer agree with.”
When asked what boundary she no longer agrees with, Teddi explained that she grew up in a Christian household and in Christian schools where she was raised to wait until marriage, but she’s not as beholden to that belief anymore.
Time will tell if Teddi and Clayton go to the fantasy suites. Meanwhile, Teddi and Nick seemed to put water under the bridge after their interview.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.