If you’ve watched their drama unfold in Malta, you may be wondering the truth about whether Maria said “shut the fuck up” to Lea on The Bachelor Season 28 and what really happened between them and Sydney.
Maria Georgas and Lea Cayanan are two of 32 contestants on The Bachelor Season 28 with Joey Graziadei. In Season 28, Episode 4 of The Bachelor Season 28, Maria, a 29-year-old Executive Assistant from Kleinburg, Ontario, was accused of telling Lea, a 23-year-old Account Manager from Waipahu, Hawaii, to “shut the fuck up” while in the feud with another contestant.
As for the Bachelor, Joey was a contestant on The Bachelorette Season 20 with Charity Lawson, where he was the runner-up. He was announced as the Season 28 Bachelor at The Bachelorette Season 20 “After the Final Rose” special in August 2023. “I’m looking for someone that’s just themselves. Someone that challenges me. Someone to do life with,” Joey told host Jesse Palmer during the “After the Final Rose” special.
In an interview with BachelorNation.com in January 2024, Joey revealed whether he had any regrets about his season as the Bachelor. “I’m not really a person to have regrets. What I tried to do the whole time and what I continue to try to do is be myself and lead with what I think is the best decision,” he said. “We all make mistakes and I’m not going to look back on anything and say that was something I regret. I think that I did this to the best of my ability. I know that, so I can’t really live with any regrets with that being the case.”
As for why he wanted to become the Bachelor, Joey told the website that he realized the process worked after he almost found The One with Charity. “It’s the fact that I’ve been through it and I know what the show can bring out,” he said. “One of the beautiful parts of it is that you are pushed to be your best self. You are in an uncomfortable situation, but how you deal with that says a lot about a person. It creates an atmosphere and environment that I believe in. I think it’s a great way to get to know someone.”
But back to Maria and Lea on The Bachelor. So… did Maria say “shut the fuck up” to Lea on The Bachelor and what happened between them and Sydney? Keep reading for what we know about whether Maria really said “shut the fuck up” to Lea on The Bachelor.
Did Maria say “shut the fuck up” to Lea on The Bachelor?
Did Maria say “shut the fuck up” to Lea on The Bachelor Season 28? In Episode 4 of The Bachelor Season 28 in Malta, Maria went on a Two-on-One Date with Joey and Sydney Gordon, a 28-year-old Vintage Store Owner from Newport, Rhode Island, who she had been in a feud with ever since Sydney accused Maria of talking about another contestant’s age insensitively.
During the Two-on-One Date, Sydney claimed to Joey that Maria told Lea to “shut the fuck up” at a pool party in Episode 4 because she tried to defend Sydney during her argument with Maria. “When you left the pool party, hell broke loose. Maria started attacking me in front of the group. This was the first time the girls tried to step in and she told Lea to shut the fuck up. Many people in the house heard it. It was in the group. I heard it. Lea brought it up again, and I can guarantee that every single situation in the house, therre has been one common denominator and that has been Maria repeatedly being disrespectful,” Sydney said. “It’s crossed the line enough that I have to do this for myself and I have to do this for you. The person that Maria has been toward me and anothers is not someone you would want your wife to be.”
When Joey asked Maria about what Sydney had said about her telling Lea to shut the fuck up, Maria denied it. “Absolutely not. I would never say that. First of all, that’s so vulgar. No. It’s such a lie. It’s crazy to me,” Maria said. Sydney was later sent home on the Two-on-One Date.
So did Maria say shut the fuck up to Lea on The Bachelor Season 28? According to Maria, the answer is still no. After The Bachelor Season 28, Episode 4, aired Maria took to her Instagram with a post seemingly claiming that “things will come to light” about whether she really told Lea to shut the fuck up or not.
“We are all watching together at the same time. Things I’m seeing are new to me as well and are hard to watch but please during this time, don’t send any hate to anyone. Things will come to light as they can I promise you that so just remember PEACE LOVE AND POSITIVITY,” Maria captioned a photo of her and other Bachelor Season 28 contestants, which didn’t include either Sydney or Lea. Maria also shared other photos of her and other Bachelor contestants, all of which also didn’t include Lea or Sydney.
Lea, for her part, also took to her Instagram the day of the episode to share photos of her and other Bachelor contestants. Most of the photos didn’t includeMaria aside from one of the cast on the airport tarmac.
After her elimination on The Bachelor Season 28, Sydney took to Instagram with an audio message a viewer had sent her calling her a “bitch” among other names. “You are a fucking bitch,” one message said. “You are as low and gross and scummy as they come,” another message said. Sydney later talked about the hate she’s been receiving since her feud with Maria. While she didn’t acknowledge her claim that Maria told Lea to “shut the fuck up,” she did confess that there were certain things she said that she wishes she could take back. “I know that’s hard to hear. That is just two of thousands of hurtful messages I’ve received these last couple weeks, ” she said. “I didn’t know I could feel this low my entire life. Every time I open up Instagram, TikTok, I’m constantly reminded of all the insecurities it took so long to overcome. To hear, ‘You’re ugly. You look like a man,’ it almost feels like I went back to square one.”
She continued, “I was told I’d be better off dead. People struggle with suicide ideation. That is something that should not be taken lightly. That is not something that we should be joking about. We as a society need to be better. We need to do better. We deserve better. It’s important to be aware that words you use, they pierce very deeply. When you are sending hate to me or another cast member, you may hate the character that was created on the show but who’s actually receiving that hate is a real human being. I can’t speak of details about the show, but I can say there are certain things that I wish I did differently and things I wish I didn’t say. I will be keeping my comments off to protect my peace, my family and friends’ peace as well. Thank you for listening.”
The Bachelor Season 28 airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Here’s how to watch it for free.
Photo: Courtesy of Penguin Books.
To get more of an inside scoop, check out Los Angeles Times writer Amy Kaufman’s book, Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure, for a deep dive into the Bachelor franchise. The book uncovers the secrets of Bachelor Nation, from how much the Bachelor and the Bachelorette are paid to the rules contestants have to follow, that producers don’t want fans to know. It’s a must-read for any Bachelor Nation member.
