'Love Is Blind' Star Deepti Vempati On Her Break Up With Kyle & Why Shake Missed The Reunion

Narcity met Deepti Vempati from the hit Netflix reality series Love Is Blind 2 at the recent launch of her book I Choose Myself, in Toronto.

She was visiting for the first time and that too for only a day; but the reality-show-contestant-turned-author is already planning her next trip -- to "enjoy the restaurants and get to know the different cultures." Just like her city of residence, Chicago, she thinks that Toronto is a cultural melting pot she wants to explore.

Vempati became an internet icon after rejecting the on-camera marriage proposal from controversial co-contestant Abhishek 'Shake' Chatterjee on LIB 2. In the show's recent reunion episodes, though, she was romantically involved with another participant on the show, Kyle Abrams, whom she was also rumoured to have later broken up with.

She took us inside these new developments in her love life, along with details about her new book and also spilled the tea on Shake's absence from the show's recent episodes. Read on for more details:

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Breakup with Kyle Abrams

"We wanted to make sure that we don't have regrets in life. And so we had to take that next step, but in doing so, we knew, maybe it might not work out, and that's what happened for us," Vempati told Narcity in regards to the relationship with Abrams.

Things didn't work out because their "goals didn't align" and the pressure from immediately after the show didn't help either.

"We're getting all these comments from people. We're getting a lot of opinions from people. Honestly, we just needed to walk our separate paths to understand each other and grow individually because we were so codependent," she explained.

"Honestly, we just recognize that we were better off as friends, and that's okay."

"You have to normalize getting out of unhealthy situations."

As for the status of their friendship now, it's not the same as it used to be. According to Vempati, "once you cross that line, it's just hard to get back to that same thing that you used to have."

What's up with Shake Chatterjee

Vempati shared that in discussion with the producers, they decided it was best for Chatterjee not to attend the reunion as per the wishes of multiple cast members.

"Kyle and I, we've talked to producers, and we said, you know, we don't want to film with him," said Vempati. "I made it explicitly clear to them that if Shake is at that lake house if you want us to film with him, I'm just not here for it, and that's what we did."

She added that "the rest of the cast felt the same way."

Vempati has shared more details on the Shake saga in her book, which was released earlier this month.

Other cultural challenges

Vempati also empathized with the struggles of other south Asian women in the West and also underlined differences with her parents regarding arranged marriages.

In her book, she also discusses what to look for in a potential significant other. "Never do people sit back and realize: 'Does he make you happy?', 'Is he compatible with you?'."

"These are the tough questions because, yes, he may look perfect on paper, but he might not be perfect for you based on your personality and your compatibility, and that's what's important."

As for what's next, she said that she'll be working on building herself and her brand for now, including book tours, building a podcast, and travelling more. More power to you, girl!