"You know it was very intense and it was so raw," Brandi told The Daily Dish of the experience. "Everything that we went through was about having our hearts broken and revealing why and how we haven't been able to move past [it]. It was really, really hard, I think, for us to all to go there because we walked in, all of us, with our walls up and then all of a sudden wer're crying and laughing and making out. Things got real real quick."
It was definitely an experience that changed The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum.
"We were spending 24 hours a day together, seven days a week so it was like a fast forward relationship," Brandi said. "It was basically, we get up, we have no makeup, we have breakfast [and] all day long we're with one another. So I think anyone in that position would form relationships whether for the good, the bad, the ugly. It wasn't easy, don't get me wrong. It was hard, but it's like the Housewives going on vacation for three days under one roof — imagine that for a month." Given her relationship history, there were specific challenges for Brandi. "And while I got along with people, I rarely make new friends or let people in because I don't trust them and I've been screwed over in the past — not just by men [but] by friends as well," she explained. "So I think that was the hardest thing for me to open up and say you know what I'm going to trust you and I hope I can trust you with it."
But there was definitely one person she really connected with.
"The easiest person [to get along with] definitely was Calum Best. I knew him a little bit before from modeling and we hung out years and years ago," she said. "But he was just the most genuine to me. It took a while for some of them to open up and Calum came in with his heart on his sleeve and we connected immediately. He was very, very real with his demons and his problems and what was great was about him and what wasn't great about him."
If the show's trailer teases anything, it's that a romance definitely did develop between the twosome.
"We went through it on the show, as you will watch," she said. "It was tumultuous for sure. But he definitely showed me that I can have [a relationship] again and I thought that I couldn't. And that was a big deal. And it's been seven years [since I divorced Eddie Cibrian] and I hadn't felt that way since my ex-husband. So it was eye-opening and it just kind of made me have hope for love again. So it was good."
But Brandi notes that distance has made it difficult for anything further to develop between them since the show has wrapped.
"Like I said we both have our demons... Ultimately he lives in London," said the L.A.-based Brandi. "We're in touch. We've been in touch since the show ended, we actually spent Thanksgiving together. We text every day."
When all is said and done, Brandi walked away from the experience with a new sense of self.
"I think the thing for me to do was be soft and vulnerable. It's hard because I have serious trust issues and I was skeptical of trusting anyone in the house," she said. "I think I learned that I could be my old self, vulnerable again — but at the same time I also learned what I want out of relationship and what I won't put up with anymore, so that's kind of the good and the bad and the ugly."
The series follows several familiar faces, including former Danity Kane singer Aubrey O'Day, Jersey Shore DJ Pauly D, The Bachelorette's Josh Murray, pro football player Willis McGahee, and British model Calum Best, and asks them to tackle their issues head-on with the help of relationship therapist Dr. Darcy Sterling.
Famously Single premieres on Tuesday, June 14 at 10pm/9c on E! For International TV Listings, click here!
Source/Photo Credit: Bravo
