Natalie Cruz filmed Temptation Island nearly a year ago, but she’s still dealing with the drama. After the show, the 23-year-old rekindled her romance with her on-screen fling Grant Larsen, only for things to implode when she discovered he cheated on her with his ex, Ashley Moore. “It was absolutely love bombing,” Natalie says of Grant’s post-show behavior.
On Season 9 of the dating series (the first to air on Netflix), Natalie and Grant seemed to fall hard for one another, hooking up in their villa while Ashley was stewing in a separate building. It’s a narrative you’d imagine would make Natalie and Ashley bitter enemies, but it’s done the exact opposite.
The two got in contact a couple of months before the March 12 premiere, after Ashley had ended her fleeting relationship with Grant, and bonded immediately. “I thought it was going to be awkward, but it wasn’t at all. Anytime Grant posts, one of us will screenshot it and send it to the other person. Or when he posts a singing video, we’ll definitely text about that. Like, ‘Is this man OK?’”
“I did my job, and I did it well. So sorry you’re mad.”
Natalie has had to deal with her own social media blowback after the show, too. As a temptress, she knew she might rub viewers the wrong way. “I got so much hate for simply doing my job,” she says. “Grant was there to not be tempted, and look how that turned out. That’s not my problem. I did my job, and I did it well. So sorry you’re mad.”
Here, she discusses what the edit got right and wrong.
Elite Daily: Were you expecting to deal with backlash from fans just by coming in as a temptress?
Natalie Cruz: I was prepared to be called a home-wrecker, but I wasn’t expecting how much hate I actually got. We all signed up for the same show — I would never bring my boyfriend on that show if I actually liked him. I was a little surprised that the viewers didn’t see it that way.
ED: You’ve spoken about how you had to behave differently on the show than you might in real life. Watching it now, can you see moments where you’re not acting how you normally would?
NC: Towards the end, I wasn’t actually feeling as emotional as the show portrayed. I could tell they were going to paint Grant and me as a love story. In real life, I would’ve never gone after a man who is getting over his ex-girlfriend in real time.
ED: You also revealed you and Grant didn’t actually hook up in that infamous shower scene. How much that moment was planned?
NC: There had been several shower moments with me, him, and Alex [Zamora] that never aired. They weren’t super sexual; we called them our “bestie showers.” By the time they did put the cameras in, we had already been doing that for a week and a half. I knew he was doing something extra when he put the steamy handprint on the shower wall. It was very dramatic, very Grant. We did hook up on the show, just not in that specific moment.
ED: You also said there was a conversation between you and Grant after the final bonfire that didn’t air. What did you talk about?
NC: I was surprised they didn’t air that. I was just asking him how the final bonfire went and consoling him. He was making it seem like he and Ashley were completely done and not getting back together.
ED: After the show, you took a trip to Maryland with Grant that convinced you to date him. How do you look at that trip now?
NC: I love to travel, so he knew that was right up my alley, and it was a way to get my attention. He was going to extreme lengths to make us work off the island. And it did work, but very briefly.
ED: How serious were you and Grant in the month you were together?
NC: Honestly, I felt a little delusional right after the show. We got pretty serious really fast. But I’m still a very self-aware person, so I wasn’t surprised when he continued his old habits. I tried to get him to do therapy; I was with him for two sessions that he did. I wasn’t expecting it to be groundbreaking and completely change the type of person he was right away, so I wasn’t blind to those old habits coming back.
Maybe he needs a better therapist. I don’t know if it’s working.
ED: Do you know if he’s continued therapy since then?
NC: I’ve talked to Ashley about this, and she said he has continued therapy. But maybe he needs a better therapist. I don’t know if it’s working.
ED: How did you and Ashley form this friendship despite everything with Grant?
NC: We were connected through the single boys [the Tempters from the show]. A couple of months before the show aired, they were like, “You girls would be better as a duo than being estranged.” So she ended up calling me.
ED: I know you said Grant has texted you a lot since your breakup. Is that still happening?
NC: His texts are extremely frequent since the premiere. It’s nothing crazy; he’ll just send me screenshots of friends telling him “I watched you and Natalie on the show.” I read them all. I just don’t respond.
I want you to know that I’m purposely never responding.
ED: Have you thought about blocking him?
NC: I’m not a blocker. My thought is “You cheated on me; I want you to see that I’m receiving every single message, every single call, every voice memo, and I’m choosing not to respond.” That hurts worse than blocking. I want you to know that I’m purposely never responding.
That was my initial thought, at least. But now, I’m so far past that moment. I have no anger towards the situation at all. So it’s kind of just like, “Oh, Grant texted me again. OK.”
ED: How did you feel when Grant posted that video after the show premiered, asking people not to send you hate?
NC: I was not expecting that at all. He must have seen the hate on my page and thought it was really shaking me up, and thought he could take it into his own hands and fix it. But I think it only made things worse, or kept them the same.
I guess I kind of appreciate it, but I really just thought it was odd. Why are you posting that? We haven’t spoken in eight months, and now you’re posting this video claiming that you’re in love with me? No, you’re not. That’s crazy.
ED: What were you thinking when Grant called in during your Live with Ashley, and he started yelling at her?
NC: I was extremely uncomfortable. I don’t even know why Ashley picked up. The way he was talking to her was horrible. He never spoke to me that way, but obviously our relationship wasn’t at the extreme caliber theirs was. I’ve only seen him sad. I’d never seen that angry side of him.
Most of the things that made my experience my experience honestly didn’t air.
ED: Do you think it’s fully over between Ashley and Grant at this point?
NC: Honestly, no. They’re still constantly in contact, and to me, it’s not over until you cut off contact. They have so many deep layers they need to work through, because they both still seem traumatized by the relationship. So they’re both still holding on slightly, I guess.
ED: What was cut from the final edit of Temptation Island that you wish had been shown?
NC: Obviously, the show is tailored to Grant’s journey and not mine. But if more of our conversations aired, a lot would’ve been laid out more clearly.
For instance, one of my biggest hate comments is “You did all that, and he didn’t even want to leave with you.” The viewers can’t even fathom that I would’ve been someone pushing him to leave alone. That was an important conversation we had before the final bonfire.
ED: There unfortunately isn’t a reunion for this season. Was there something you were dying to bring up if there had been one?
NC: Ashley and I had this plan to come into the reunion super friendly, like, “Hey, girl, how are you doing?” because Grant had no idea we would ever connect. We went to the premiere holding hands, but he still didn’t put it together; I heard him asking around, being like, “Wait, do they know each other?”
ED: Is there another reality show you’re interested in being on next?
NC: Perfect Match would be a great one. I’d be open to any reality TV show, except for the ones that end in marriage. I’m only 23, and I’m not really looking for that right now.
ED: What would you do if you got cast on another show with Grant?
NC: Oh, God. That might make for great TV, but I’d be disappointed. Give me a new pool of men — a better pool of men, please.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
