“Very. Though I didn’t have a clue I was even a contender until I received the email congratulating me on being picked.”
“Let’s talk about the Ashbourne Pack. Did you feel a genuine connection with them?”
“Yes.” The word slips out before I can stop it. I take a deep breath and continue, truthfully. “Yes. I did. I think anyone watching would know that. I… grew to care about them a great deal during our time together. If I hadn’t it wouldn’t have hurt so much when I was sent home.”
“Many viewers believed you thought you might be chosen at the end. Is that true?”
My eyes flick over to the door I know Tic is standing behind, watching the interview, ready to step in and whisk me away if this gets to be too much. We went over the questions I’m willing to answer before the cameras turned on, and this wasn’t one of them. “I didn’t. Not at first. It was fairly clear to me that I was the odd one out. In a crowd of noble ladies, famous influencers and models, I was the one most likely to be sent home first. I expected it. Was all but assured by the production crew and the Ashbourne Pack that it would happen at some point. But they continued to keep me. And seeking me out. And being so damn charming that I started to think there must be a reason for all that, you know? Beyond the drama of the show. But unfortunately I was wrong.”
“How did the rejection affect you personally?”
I blink at her. Another unplanned question that feels like she knows about my illness, that she’s giving me the chance to tell the world about it, tell the Ashbourne Pack about it. “How does rejection affect anyone?” I question back. “It never feels good, no one wants to be told they aren’t good enough. And I could really see myself with them, you know? And I’m not just saying that. It felt like they could be mine, and I could be theirs. When they sent me home, it…” I blow out a breath and shake my head. “It hurt. A lot. Shook me in a way that nothing has before, not even losing my ability to dance professionally. But I know they did what they felt was best for their country.”
“Do you believe the pack handled your elimination appropriately?”
Careful, Florence. Be oh so careful here.“I think,” I say slowly. “That given the limitations placed on them, both by the show and their position as a royal pack, they handled the elimination in the only way that they could. I might have appreciated a heads up that it was coming, but I know they were contractually bound not to give anything away.”
Even though I know they could have said something, if they’d wanted to. Any of them could have pulled me aside and told me off camera that it was going to happen. Instead they let me enter that room with hope, body still buzzing from our activities the night before and they blindsided me.
“There have been rumors that you were only there for the money paid to the contestants of the show. The longer you stayed the more money you made. Is there any truth to that?”
I shift, nervously, glancing around the room.This is live, Florence. Get it together.“Not when I arrived. But I was informed almost immediately that I was so poorly matched with the pack, that there was no way I’d be picked. I’m not like the other omegas on the show. I worked two jobs and had to taketime off from both of them in order to go on the show, only to be told I came for nothing. I didn’t come for money, but I stayed for it after that.”
Heather’s brows arch like she’s just broken the story of the century. “So you manipulated them into keeping you longer, so you could have a bigger payday.” She phrases it like fact, not a question.
“No. I told them to send me home, many, many times. They chose to keep me on their own volition. Not to mention I was never actually paid anything for my time on the show.”
“Why’s that?” She sounds genuinely shocked when she asks.
“I was in breach of contract when I didn’t give a parting confessional. They asked me, warned me many times what would happen if I refused. But at the time I didn’t want my heartbreak broadcast. I still don’t.”
I half expect her to follow up on that, to ask why I agreed to do this interview if I don’t want the world to know how they hurt me. But she doesn’t, apparently finding my explanation enough.
“If you could say one thing to the Ashbourne pack now, what would it be?”
I pause, for probably longer than I should given that this is live, streaming around the world. Are they watching now? Do they regret what they did? Do they wish they’d picked with their hearts and not their duty? “I would say… I don’t think any of you wanted to hurt me. I just think wanting wasn’t enough.”
“Let’s change directions. Your recent comments about the Bravonnian monarchy sparked widespread debate. Did you expect that reaction?”
Finally, the real reason why we’re here. When I’d agreed to this interview, it was mostly because I knew I needed to explain myself to the world in as succinct and quick a manner as possible.
People were reading too much into my comments, or not enough, and I felt the need to clarify my stance. Though I do think I was fairly clear to begin with.
“I don’t think it was my comments that sparked the debate. It was already there. How could it not be? I think my comments gave one side of the debate a figurehead and the other side a scapegoat.”
“Some critics say your remarks were emotionally driven rather than informed. How do you respond to that?”
“Itwasemotionally driven, without a doubt. But saying I’m not informed is ridiculous. I am an omega. The new laws in Bravonne greatly limit the rights of the country’s omega citizens. Sending them back to a time when omegas were viewed as property to be traded and bartered for, and not people. Of course I’m emotional about that. Of course I’m angry and frustrated. I may not be a Bravonnian citizen, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be appalled at their treatment.”
“You’re not a legal scholar or policymaker—why do you feel qualified to speak on these laws?”
“Again, I am an omega. I think that’s all the qualification I need to speak on laws that directly affect my designation.”
“Do you worry that your personal disappointment with the pack influenced your political stance?”
“Not at all. If I’d read about the laws the Bravonnian monarchy pushed through never having met the Ashbourne Pack, I’d have been appalled. I’d have supported the groups protesting. The only difference is that now I have a sliver of celebrity and so my words carry weight. People pay attention to them. It's my duty as a public figure to stand up against injustice when I see it.”
“Viewers ofRoyaLove Getawayconnected strongly to your vulnerability. Was it difficult sharing such personal parts of your life on camera?”
