Dean Asks Kristina Why He’s “So Sucky At Dating” On His New Podcast & It’s, Uhhh, Awkward

Dean Unglert knows that dating isn't exactly is forte, especially last season on Bachelor in Paradise. So much so that his dating woes on the show are what inspired him to launch his own podcast, Help! I Suck At Dating!, just off the heels of his recent stint in Mexico. On the show's first episode, Dean discusses his Bachelor in Paradise behavior with Kristina Schulman, and the pretty awkward phone conversation that the former couple engages in definitely opens up some old wounds.

In a sneak preview of the podcast, Dean calls up Kristina to get a little more perspective on what went wrong in their relationship, and in doing so he pretty much opens up a massive can of worms as Kristina lays into him about how things fell apart.

Kristina starts off by mentioning that a major issue that plagued their relationship was communication. She makes a point that Dean has a habit of putting a wall up by masking his inner feelings with his jokes and sense of humor, to which Dean gives a pretty cringeworthy response: "Don't you think it's more fun to have a dating relationship where all you do is laugh and smile the whole time without talking about feelings?"

Her response to Dean's question makes a good point:

"Well, of course. You can have all of those things but how does the relationship get stronger or deeper without talking about feelings? It's supposed to be all fun and flirting and laughing in the beginning but eventually I think it has to move into some kind of feelings talk."

Kristina is right on this one. While it is nice to have someone to laugh with and treat like your own best friend, not being able to speak with your significant other about your feelings can take an unhealthy toll on you and your relationship. Not to mention that only wanting to spend time making jokes with your partner doesn't do anything to deepen your connection with them, as it only allows you to get to know each other on a surface level. Yes, it'd be nice to spend forever laughing with someone, but that alone isn't how necessarily how relationships prosper.

Kristina continues on, telling Dean,

"...you tend to like sugarcoat things and not say exactly how you feel. You try to find a roundabout way. But sometimes it's best to just say it. It might hurt. I know I've told you this multiple times. It's going to sting in the moment. It's better than finding out later."

She makes some valid points, and even notes during their conversation how weird it feels for her to be talking to him about how not-so-great of a dater he is. Much of their talk after that consists of Dean justifiably trying to lighten the mood with more fun questions.

Dean and Kristina hit it off on Bachelor in Paradise and bonded over the fact that they both came from unstable family environments. Kristina was born in Russia but spent some time in an orphanage before being adopted into an American family at eight years old. Dean, on the other hand, dealt with the loss of his mother at an early age, and that in turn caused a tense relationship to build up between him and his father.

When filming on the show was temporarily suspended in June, the two spent some time together in Kentucky, where Kristina was raised. That ultimately brought them closer together, but once they returned to paradise things took quite the turn and the would-be couple was involved in a love triangle with another contestant on the show, Danielle Lombard. Their time on the show was definitely a roller coaster ride and the two ended up splitting, though there was recently some speculation that Dean and Kristina might be trying to work things out.

Whatever the status of their relationship is right now, at least it's good to see them on good terms and able to be honest with each other about the issues in their relationship.