It's been a tough week for Natalie and James on Big Brother 18 . First, the sweetest showmance of the season (yeah, I said it) was put on the block by HOH Victor, and then Nat and James got in a huge fight. Gossip, mixed signals, and hurt feelings lead to a blow out between the BB18 couple that had everyone convinced it was the end of Jatalie. What happened in a nutshell is that Natalie went to Paul and Victor to apologize for betraying them, essentially telling them that she regretted trusting James' judgment and putting them up instead of Nicole and Corey when she was HOH. Paul and Vic then told James that Natalie had thrown him under the bus, and that she was campaigning to stay. The two had been adamant that they would not campaign, with James trying to get the houseguests to evict him and Natalie hoping they would evict her instead. In the end, Natalie and James stuck together and Natalie was evicted from Big Brother 18 .
Natalie's eviction was pretty much set in stone all week, so it's not too surprising to see her go. What is surprising is how Natalie defended herself in her exit interview with Julie Chen. After leaving the house and telling James that she loved him and that he was her soulmate, Natalie sat down with Chen to give her side of the story, defending herself against any allegations that she betrayed her Big Brother soulmate, James.
Chen confronted Natalie about her actions, asking her if she understood why people might think she threw James under the bus. Natalie insisted that she never betrayed him, saying, "I did not throw him under the bus. I would never do that to him." After seeing Paul's goodbye message, in which he told her he lost respect for her after she turned on James, Natalie appeared to understand why people thought she had been using James and defended her actions again. "I didn't realize I threw him under the bus," Natalie said, noting that sometimes you end up saying things you don't mean in the house, "My heart was always to protect him."
Natalie also answered the question we've all wanted to ask all season: is the showmance between Natalie and James a real romance? According to Natalie, her relationship with James isn't just real, "it's really real!" But, does that mean that the two of them are a couple or just best friends? According to Natalie, their exact relationship status is TBD. "I love him so much as a person. Whether we work out, I don't know," she said, hinting at the possibility of a romance post-Big Brother.
Natalie seems pretty loyal to her BB boo, telling Chen that she will be rooting for James no matter what. True love is real, guys!
Images: Bill Inoshita/CBS; Giphy (2)
