Rob Feeley Breaks Silence on 'Love Is Blind' Reunion, the Beekeeper and His 50-Day Low

Rob Feeley says one of the worst moments of his life played out on Netflix. Two days before the "Love Is Blind" Season 11 reunion dropped on the streaming platform, the 40-year-old AI infrastructure salesperson gave an exclusive exit interview to Variety from the driver's seat of his car, nearly two years after the night that turned him from fan favorite into the most talked-about man on the Boston edition of the dating series.

"I'm the Walmart Travis Kelce," Feeley joked when asked whether the Kansas City Chiefs tight end or Taylor Swift had reached out about the resemblance that launched a thousand memes. "I'm a lot less athletic and I have a lot less money."

What happened before filming?

Feeley laid out plainly the run of losses he suffered in the year before entering the pods. His long-term relationship ended. He lost his job. Two of his best friends died. His father was in hospice.

"I'm a human being just like all of us," he said. "One of my worst moments was caught on Netflix."

Feeley had never watched "Love Is Blind" before applying. He said he "just wanted to find love." Instead, he found what he called a pressure cooker: no phones, sequestered, alone in hotel rooms at night. "There were nights in the hotel room by yourself where I'd talk to my dad," he said.

At the cast's first get-together back in Boston, Feeley spiraled — going after beekeeper Matt Waldrip, dismissing the "experiment" and daring viewers to cancel him. A dinner with his five closest friends had already left his fiancée, retail executive Michaella Giorgio, sitting through a barrage of comments from one of them, his friend Jay. The engagement did not survive.

Why did he almost skip the reunion?

Feeley said he came out of respect for Michaella. "Whatever she had to say about how I behaved publicly, she deserved an explanation publicly," he said. "But who wants to go in front of America and be a punching bag?"

The taping ran six hours. Feeley said his 78-year-old mother nearly flew across the country to sit in the audience — he stopped her. He had bought a house this year and moved her into the in-law apartment after her landlord kept raising her rent. "I can't put you on a flight across the country to have anxiety," he told her. His best friend attended in her place with his brother.

What were the 50 days about?

After the episodes aired, Feeley spent roughly 50 days in what he described as a self-imposed reset. It was not a program. "I was depressed," he said. "I was full of anxiety."

He worked out, stopped drinking, ate right and sought counseling from a psychiatrist. He met with his psychiatrist again the night before the interview. "I've suffered from severe anxiety my whole life," he said, urging others not to quit therapy after a few sessions.

What about the dinner and his friend Jay?

Feeley said he did not know Jay had been drinking beforehand and called rewatching the dinner "a complete embarrassment." "Michaella didn't deserve to sit there and listen to any of that BS," he said. "If I could change it, I'd change it 100 out of 100 times."

He disclosed that Jay has been battling stage three lung cancer — he is now in remission — while calling the behavior inexcusable. Feeley said he has apologized to Michaella and continues to.

What is the story with the beekeeper?

Feeley learned that Michaella and Matt Waldrip had been seeing each other roughly seven or eight months after the show. "It stung a little bit. No pun intended," he said. "But Michaella is a grown woman who can date whoever she wants." He said he was as surprised as anyone by the reunion's revelations about Matt, including what he called "the Harry Potter stuff, the chicken cutlets."

On the season's only married couple, John and Sarah, Feeley was blunt: "There's no room for infidelity in life. He lost Sarah, so he paid the ultimate price." He said the moment John's father — who Feeley noted had dated Sarah in the pods — got involved left the cast shell-shocked.

What comes next?

Feeley said he told Michaella directly: "You deserve better than me." He wants friendship. They hugged after the reunion, and he texted her that night.

He is now seeing someone. That rules out another dating show for now — "Until further notice, that's a no, my friend," he said of "Perfect Match."

He closed with an apology. "I don't want to let one bad moment define the person that I am," he said. "I'm not blaming producers. It was my own behavior."

The "Love Is Blind" Season 11 reunion is streaming now on Netflix.