After skipping the Age of Attraction reunion special on Bachelor franchise star Nick Viall‘s podcast, one of the Netflix dating show’s stars, Pfeifer Hill, has opened up about why she didn’t attend the recording.
The Viall Files-hosted reunion special announced Wednesday, “Unfortunately, Hill is celebrating her birthday in Japan, and is sad to not be here,” but the reality personality shared a slightly different story in a social media post explaining her absence alongside the rest of the cast.
In a new Instagram video (below), Hill specifically said she “declined” to appear on Viall’s podcast (which he hosts with wife Natalie Joy, who also cohosts the main Age of Attraction with her husband).
“I always try to stay true to myself,” Hill said in the clip, later adding, “I never want to speak on a podcast that doesn’t feel like an authentic choice or one I’m not enthusiastic about.”
She continued, telling followers that she wants “the first time that I speak out about the show to be on a platform that aligns with me and is one of my choosing” in the future.
“I want to tell my story on my own terms,” Hill said, clarifying that her words are “not shade” to Viall, Joy, or anyone who attended the reunion without her.
“One of the beautiful things about being human is we’re all different, we can accept that and appreciate who we are,” she said.
“I made a different choice because, for me, that choice upholds what I believe in, which is authenticity to myself,” additionally urging her followers to “protect your peace” elsewhere in her explanation.
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The star explained that “Derrick [Fleming] and I ended on good terms,” and that she has “no bad blood with anybody in the cast” after she ended her run on the dating show — which aims to unite people across age gaps — in a relationship with Fleming. At the time of filming, Hill was 23 and Fleming was 43.
Now, Hill confirmed that she is in another relationship after breaking up with Fleming, and called her new partner her “best friend” and “one of the biggest joys” in her life that resulted in a momentous trip to Japan to spend time with him.
“Even if I wanted to attend in the first place, I would’ve had to reschedule our trip,” Hill clarified.
On the reunion special, Fleming explained in Hill’s absence that several different factors played into their breakup, including his discovery that Hill lived in what he felt was a “sorority girl-style” setup with roommates halfway across the country from him, as she lived in Washington state and he lived in Texas with his children.
Derrick Fleming and Pfeifer Hill on ‘Age of Attraction’
Credit: Courtesy of Netflix
“When she was in Dallas, we talked about me coming and visiting. She was pretty adamant, like, ‘Hey, I’d rather get a hotel’ and I’d stay with her,” Fleming explained. “I’m like, yeah, I’m a grown man, I’m not going to burden your roommates, I get it, I want to be totally respectful of their space as well,” but that he “probably should’ve asked deeper questions” about the situation upfront.
“This is a whole new phase of dating,” he said of their post-show dynamic. “Do we like talking on the phone? Do we like FaceTiming?”
He said that the new era of their relationship posed “a lot that was unanswered” that he wanted to explore before introducing her to his children, but stressed that, even though the relationship ended, he’s grateful for his time with her and has “so much respect” for his costar.
He even added that his uncoupling with Hill is the first time he’s ever “had a breakup that wasn’t toxic” in his life.
Following the show’s finale, another couple, John Merrill and Theresa DeMaria, exclusively told Entertainment Weekly why they didn’t remain together.
“We are not together — and age was the factor,” John told EW. “She just felt weird vibes when we were going out. We [dated] for, like, six months after the show, and she just couldn’t take the … I figure, you know, you make a big deal out of [the age gap], it’s a big deal. I felt the whole time that age wasn’t a big deal unless she made it a big deal. It got to us.”
Age of Attraction is now streaming on Netflix. Listen to the Viall- and Joy-hosted reunion special above.
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