Peter Weber’s ex-girlfriend Merissa Pence knew contestant Victoria Fuller long before she appeared on this season of The Bachelor, proving that it’s a small world within Bachelor Nation. Merissa recently opened up about her relationship with Victoria, but she challenged the persona Victoria is putting on for TV. According to Merissa, Victoria’s coy on-screen personality is all an act.
Since the start of the season, Victoria has proved to be painfully emotional. In the first few episodes, she described herself as “meek,” and stated many times that she felt uncomfortable around so many beautiful women. She was prone to tear-filled breakdowns, usually when Peter wasn’t giving her enough attention. Unfortunately, Victoria’s behavior has only grown more unpredictable. She hasn’t had a single conversation with Peter where she’s kept her composure. Instead, she continuously breaks down into tears and storms away, telling everyone around her that she just can’t do this. On the latest date, Victoria showed a nastier side of herself. Instead of crying, she turned on Peter and accused him of always being in a mood, even though he asked her a very reasonable question. Although she continues to turn to tears as her first line of defense, a catty and cruel side is starting to emerge.
According to Merissa, the nasty side of Victoria is more in line with who she really is. Although Merissa dated Peter for only five months in 2012, she had nothing but good things to say about the Bachelor. Her comments about Victoria, however, were less positive. In a recent interview with Us Weekly, Merissa explained that she met Victoria about three years ago. Unfortunately, the two women got off to a rough start in their relationship. She told Us, “Our first encounter was that she told me she was going to slash my tires because I was hanging out with one of her ex-boyfriends.” Although Victoria threatened her initially, the two women ran in the same circles and eventually became friends. Merissa explained the dynamic, saying, “Virginia Beach is a pretty small town. As time went on, I became friends with a girl who was best friends with Victoria, and so we all kind of started hanging out and it just became more of like a forced friendship versus like…I wouldn’t, like, voluntarily go hang out with her.”
Although Merissa didn’t have a real problem with Victoria, their relationship changed right before Victoria left for The Bachelor. Merissa acknowledged that it was weird that Victoria would be dating her ex-boyfriend, but she also stated that it wasn’t that big of a deal. Victoria, however, relished her new role as a reality TV contestant. Merissa said, “We went out one night for our friend Audrey’s birthday and it turned into the Victoria Fuller show because it was three weeks out that she was about to leave for The Bachelor and she just became a very self-centered person. Just wanting all the attention and it was very distasteful.” She continued with her criticism of Victoria, stating that she’s not at all the person she’s trying to be on TV. She said, “She just thinks that the world revolves around her and she’s the hottest thing that’s ever hit this planet. And actually the most disturbing thing so far of all of this was the lingerie episode that she just acted like she was this coy person. The people in Virginia Beach are even seeing that that’s not you at all. You’re always the one in the bar wanting attention.”
Victoria has already faced a lot of criticism during her short time on The Bachelor. Given her unpredictable behavior and the defensive attitude that’s slowly emerged during her time on the show, it’s not hard to believe Merissa’s accusations. A sneak peek into next week’s hometown shows a heated confrontation between Victoria and Peter, so maybe we’ll get some answers as to who this contestant really is.
The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8pm ET on ABC.
Source: Us
