Sometimes a dozen dates just isn’t enough.
Spoilers: 12 Dates of Christmas season two star Markelle Smith exclusively revealed to E! News why he left the HBO Max dating competition series halfway through.
“My decision to leave the show was purely based off of analyzing my connections with everyone in the lodge and just seeing the potential daters there,” Markelle explained on Nov. 22. “I think when it came down to it, my feelings for my ex ended up trumping any of the connections that I had made in the lodge.”
The New York-based dentist added, “One of the biggest things I learned during this experience is that for a relationship to be successful, chemistry is not enough, love is not enough. It takes so much more than an attraction and a connection for a serious relationship to be successful. That’s when I decided to leave and give someone else the shot at potentially falling in love or taking someone home for the holidays.”
One of Markelle’s suitors, Pinij, was promoted to the new lead to find someone special to take home for the holidays.