Aurora Culpo is breaking her silence on her split from Paul Bernon.
On Wednesday, July 17, the internet personality confirmed that she and the film producer, 45, had parted ways after two months of dating on her Barely Filtered podcast.
While putting rumors to bed, Culpo, 35, addressed the recent headlines regarding Bernon and his ex-fiancée, Bethenny Frankel, who seemingly announced their breakup in an episode of her Just B podcast earlier this month.
"Usually, I always like to keep the men in my life anonymous," she began. "Unfortunately, because Paul told Bethenny that he was breaking up with me, and then Bethenny then went on her podcast and leaked it and then gave her reason behind our breakup, it put me in a position to have to respond."
Culpo and Bernon began dating shortly after he called off his engagement to Frankel in March. According to the influencer, Bernon found her online and approached her with an idea to start a podcast about dating. In May, the former couple went on their first date and celebrity gossip blog DeuxMoi posted a blind item about their budding romance.
Culpo and Bernon were later photographed together in late June in Rhode Island. The duo was in town a week before her sister Olivia's wedding to Christian McCaffery.
"A lot of people just don't like seeing their name in the headlines. It's part of the world that I'm in, so I am prepared for it. It doesn't bother me. There's been a lot of bad things," she added before opening up about the situation that led to their breakup.
Culpo referenced an episode of Barely Filtered where Olivia claimed Bernon was not invited to her wedding and jokingly called him her latest "flavor of the month." She alleged that Bernon didn't take kindly to the comments and chose to break things off.
"I understand that feels s---ty. I asked my sister if I could bring my new boyfriend to the wedding, and she said no because she didn't know him," she explained. "He was not the flavor of the month. He was the flavor of two months, and I would have preferred it to go longer, but, unfortunately, he dumped me."
"Then the next day he calls me, and he says it's not working. And, you know, I was disappointed. It never feels good to be broken up with, let's be honest," she continued. "Like it's a bruise to the ego."
Culpo acknowledged that both her and Frankel's celebrity status contributed to Bernon's identity being leaked. When she opened up about her relationship on Barely Filtered, Frankel would react to Culpo's stories on her own podcast.
"Nothing was meant to hurt anybody's feelings," she explained, referencing Frankel. "I ne -
ver thought that she was gonna hear any of the things that I said. But, again, I can't edit my podcast to the feelings of somebody that I'm dating's ex girlfriend. And he was always supposed to remain anonymous. It didn't play out that way.""He made the choice to not be in a relationship with me because he wants a private life, and that's probably a good idea," she added.
Beyond Bernon's desire to remain private, Culpo said that the former couple also didn't see eye-to-eye when it came to having more children. Culpo currently shares son Remi, 5, and daughter Solei, 3, with her ex-husband Michael “Mikey” Bortone and told listeners she may want more. Bernon, on the other hand, has two teenagers who are 17 and 14 and doesn't want more kids.She added, "Our communication style was just so different. I'm not really somebody who can give space when somebody feels hurt."
Culpo then addressed Frankel's July 8 podcast episode, where The Real Housewives of New York City alum opened up about how she was “proud of the way” she “handled” her broken engagement to Bernon. The couple got engaged in March 2021 and ended things in March of this year.
After claiming Culpo had also appeared to have "learned a lot" from her relationship with Bernon, Frankel said, "Their actions cost them their relationship, which was brand-new, and who knows what would’ve happened?”
Culpo, on her podcast, said Frankel revealing their breakup was "not a good look" and added that their split was "not your story to tell."
"You have to tell me I don't want to be spoken about," she said, referring to Bernon's desire to stay private. "You really gotta be clear that you don't wanna be spoken about because it wasn't clear to me that he wanted to be anonymous."
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"When you date Taylor Swift, you know that unless you guys end up together, you're probably gonna get a song written about you," Culpo explained. "It comes with the territory. If you date me, I'm gonna talk anonymously about you on my podcast called Barely Filtered about dating. I can't be sorry for that."
She joked that the two were "never ever, ever getting back together" — unless Bernon wanted to. "Maybe you could call me," she laughed.
After claiming that Bernon "hates me," she addressed him directly with a plea to rekindle their romance. "I'm still open. I'm here for you, babe," Culpo said. "I still love you."
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