Big Brother’s Katherine Woodman Reacts to Backlash Rylie Received Over Showmance

Following her elimination, Katherine was asked about fan concern for her — after Rylie was seen telling her to “watch your attitude” and appearing angry that she wouldn’t kiss him or sleep in the same bed.

Katherine Woodman is defending her Big Brother showmance partner Rylie Jeffries, after he was hit with backlash for his behavior throughout their time together on the show.

While relationships happening between houseguests are nothing new, the romance between Katherine and Rylie rubbed some viewers the wrong way. Live feed viewers raised red flags for weeks, calling out what they’ve seen as controlling and manipulative behavior, all the while decrying CBS for what they’ve characterized as producers intentionally manipulating the truth to show something sweet and innocent.

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After Rylie defended himself following his eviction, Katherine did the same after her own on Thursday night — speaking highly of her in-house beau in exit interviews with Entertainment Weekly and Parade, both of which were published Friday morning.

After assuming she had been “briefed on some of the reaction” to their relationship, EW asked Katherine whether she was “ever upset or disturbed” by Kylie’s behavior or comments. “No, I was not. I genuinely … I was very surprised to hear that any of that was taken wrongly,” she told the outlet.

She then added: “I think it’s really concerning hearing that he wasn’t being seen in the best light, and I hate that I had, like, any part in that. And yeah, I’m excited to get to talk to him and offer him some reassurance that I never felt that way around him or with him. And I genuinely love that I got to share my experience in the house with him.”

At the time of the interview, it appears she still hadn’t gotten her phone back, adding that she hadn’t yet spoken with Rylie but hoped he was “doing good.” She also said he’d be “one of the first people I talk to once I get my technology back,” not knowing what the future holds for them.

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Parade got a little more specific with Katherine in their line of questioning, noting how it seemed Katherine would “put up boundaries, like not wanting to kiss or sleep in the same bed, that he would not consent to” — while saying how fans perceived his behavior as “being controlling.”

“I think with things like kissing and stuff like that, it was more so, at least for me, founded in reasons that weren’t necessarily that it was crossing a boundary. I was just thinking of having to watch me kiss somebody!” she told the outlet, reportedly with a laugh. “Like, I don’t want to see that! But I was excited to kiss him. I was glad when I did.”

“I would have been near him all the time every day if I could. I didn’t want to bug other people in the house. That was the main issue as to why I didn’t want to sleep in the same bed as him most of the time, or I didn’t want them rolling their eyes at us,” she added. “I didn’t want to feel like there was animosity towards both of us and make his position or my position in the house more precarious. So that was mainly the concerns with things like that.”

“But I never felt uncomfortable or unhappy with anything,” she insisted.

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Rylie, meanwhile, finally broke his silence in an email interview with Parade a week after his elimination. When asked if he thinks his showmance was more positive or negative, Rylie said he “didn’t see it in either way.”

“I just seen two people that fell for each other and absolutely care for each other, and that’s just what happened,” he said, insisting they were able to set it aside to still play their individual games. “I never met a woman who made me feel the way she made me feel, so I wasn’t worried about being a target.”

Parade immediately pointed out, though, that he made a comment early on that he would do everything in his power to ensure she won the $750,000 prize at the end of the season. “My connection with Katherine was absolutely amazing. I wanted to protect her and her game at all costs and see her go as far as she absolutely could in this game.”

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Finally, the magazine got to some of the red flags raised in the live feeds that television viewers may have missed. “At times, you expressed anger that she wouldn’t kiss you or sleep in the same bed as you,” the interviewer asked. “You were telling her at points to watch her attitude and tone, and that ‘I’m being with you outside of this, whether you like it or not.'”

They went on to tell him that fans perceived this behavior as Rylie “talking down to her, being controlling, and not consenting to boundaries that she’s placed.”

“I hear those concerns, and I want to say first that I never intended to make Katherine feel uncomfortable or disrespected,” Rylie responded. “I care about her deeply, and every emotion I showed came from a place of love.”

In an email interview with Entertainment Weekly, Rylie said, “I understand how things may have come across, but I speak with passion. I love with my whole heart, and maybe that intensity was misunderstood.”

“It’s heartbreaking to be misunderstood. People online don’t know me, but my friends, family, fellow Houseguests, and Katherine do, and that’s what’s important.”