Elise Benson joined 90 Day: Hunt for Love as one of the new singles shaking up the resort in the inaugural season of TLC’s new series.
In an exclusive interview with Star, the 32-year-old opened up about her experience on the show and how she arrived “with an open heart.”
“I was vulnerable, honest, and unapologetically myself,” the Massachusetts native explains. “My intention was to truly find love, and I did the best I could with where I was at the time.”
“I know I wasn’t perfect — there were moments I made mistakes or acted out of line — but those became valuable learning lessons. I also recognize that I can’t control other people or the choices they made,” Benson says. “What I can do is take accountability for myself, grow from the experience, and know better moving forward.”
Here, the reality star answers some burning questions following the airing of the explosive 90 Day: Hunt for Love Tell All, Part 1 episode.
What happened to you and Tiffany Franco after filming Hunt for Love?
After Hunt for Love, Tiffany and I ended up in New York filming Between the Sheets at the same time. We actually sat down and had a really long, honest conversation, and that’s when everything clicked. We realized that Carlo [Nowlan] had been playing both sides — he was telling me negative things about Tiffany while at the same time telling her negative things about me. We even compared our phones and looked at the messages side by side. [On] the same day, he was saying to Tiffany bad things about me and saying to me bad things about her.
Once we saw that, we understood that the tension between us wasn’t really about each other at all. It was about him trying to pit us against one another. That moment was when we were able to make peace and move forward.
On the show, I didn’t really think about ‘girl code’ because, at the time, I was only hearing how much she supposedly didn’t like me and that she was dating other people. Once the truth came out, though, it completely changed my perspective.
What happened with Carlo after the show?
After the resort, I did date Carlo for a little while, but I quickly realized he just wasn’t the right match for me. Even after we broke things off, I tried to keep things on good terms and stay friendly. But eventually, I found out that — despite me being there for him and supporting him — he was still speaking negatively about me behind my back. That was really disappointing, and it showed me who he truly was.
What happened between you and Cole Anderson the night before Tell All?
Nothing. The night before the tell-all, he came to my hotel room so we could talk about the things Carlo had been saying — both about me to him and about him to me. It was purely a conversation, nothing more. Cole and I have only ever been friends, and since we were the only singles at the tell-all, we naturally spent time together. Unfortunately, Jen [Tarazona] spun it into something it wasn’t, but the reality is there was never anything romantic there.
Did you and Tim Malcolm ever go on that date his ex Veronica help set up?
No, Tim and I never ended up going on the date. Tim is such a great guy — he’s genuinely caring and a really good person. By the time we wrapped filming that night it was already close to midnight, and I was exhausted. I had an early flight out of New York the next morning, so unfortunately the timing just didn’t work out. But I have nothing but respect for him.
There is a lot of speculation about your age — how old are you?
I keep seeing my age being misreported online. Just to clarify, I’m 32. Honestly, I think women should be celebrated at every age, but I do want the facts to be right.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source starmagazine.com ’
