STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

'Dating Naked''s Natalie Opens Up About The Untimely Passing Of Her Brother, Dating David, And Staying In Touch With Zakk

"I feel like it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I really found myself in certain ways that I didn’t think I would."

The real world is not Bora Bora.

In the Dating Naked season finale, fans were all fluttery inside when daters David and Natalie opted to keep one another. In an exclusive interview with VH1, Natalie reveals that unfortunately, they are no longer together BUT they are still really tight. We're sad to report that Natalie is also mourning the recent, tragic loss of her brother. For obvious reasons, dating is not on the forefront of her mind at this time. However, through all the sadness, Natalie shares she's blessed to have a friend in David and in the other Dating Naked cast mates who have been super supportive of her.

VH1: We would like to extend our deepest condolences about your brother. How are you feeling?

Natalie: Um, I don’t know. It’s weird. It’s like I have this really cool show going on, but like – I don’t know. I haven’t really been involved in it since this all happened, so it’s been weird for me right now.

How did you enjoy the overall Dating Naked experience?

I absolutely loved it. I feel like it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I really found myself in certain ways that I didn’t think I would. For instance, handling certain situations, meeting different people from all around the country and learning about them. Like you just think about it. I would’ve never met these people or knew they would exist if it wasn’t for this experience, and now a lot of them are some of my best friends.

What made you pick up and say, “I’m going to go on this VH1 show and get naked to meet people?

It was to do something different. I’m the kind of girl that likes to try everything once and I don’t like when people tell me I shouldn’t do something. I like to do things that are out of the norm and this is something that I didn’t think was a big deal. Just because you’re naked, it’s not a big deal. Everyone gets naked, everyone was born naked. So what?

What was the most awkward part of the experience?

The most awkward part of me being naked was probably my date with Norman. We had to do this teeter-totter for our date, and it was wood as well, so I never wanna be naked on a teeter-totter ever again. That was the worst experience of my life.

Are you and David still together?

David and I, we love each other. We are just so involved in each others lives. He’s absolutely wonderful. I couldn’t have asked for a better man to go through this with and have this experience with. When you’re on the island, you’re secluded to each other and your lives are going through something dramatic and you’re going through it with each other. When you get off the island, we’re trying to make our lives work while we’re not by each other all the time since we live in different states. But we talk every day, he’s been so supportive with my brother passing. He’s been there through every step of the way. He’s just such a great guy and our relationship just continues to grow.

In the finale you said you tend to self-sabotage relationships. Do you feel like you did that with David?

For me, during the beginning and middle of the season, that was happening with David. I wasn’t sure if we were ever gonna make that move, and then once it was week three until the finale, three weeks in, I thought, you know, "David means so much to me, I don’t know if I want to ruin this, so maybe we just shouldn’t try anything." But in my heart, my heart was telling me, “you need to make this move, girl.”

Looking back on Zakk, do you regret keeping him after seeing the episodes?

Over Connor? Yes and no. The way that the episode was played out looks really bad on Zakk’s part, but that’s not how everything happened that night. And even though I had such a great connection with Connor, it still wasn’t as big of a connection as it was with Zakk. I couldn’t even explain it. And once I saw the episode I thought, “Ew, I should’ve picked Connor.” Zakk looks like an idiot and immature, but I couldn’t cheat myself again. I really, really regretted letting him go before. I just wanted to double check and make sure that I wasn’t gonna make the same mistake twice.

Have you been in contact with Zakk at all, after all, he did profess he was in love with you.

[laughs] Yeah, Zakk and I still talk every once in awhile. He came up to Milwaukee and visited me. A lot of people have come to Milwaukee and visited me, which is actually pretty neat. And you know still to this day he says that he loves me so [laughs]. It’s kind of crazy. He’s such a great guy. I feel like a lot of people who watch the show didn’t get to know him the way I got to know him. And the way he was portrayed kind of wasn’t all true. But he is such a great guy. He’s so humbling and caring. I can’t really say one bad thing about him except he needs to shut his mouth sometimes.

What about Daveed? Have you spoken to him?

I have. I’ve talked to Daveed a lot. David and I went to go visit Daveed a couple times in New York. Daveed is the kind of guy who always calls me to make sure I always get a reality check. He’s always seeing if I’m okay, he’s always trying to cheer me up if I’m down. Especially you know with the stuff with my brother. Every cast mate has reached out to me. They’ve been so wonderful. He’s actually dating a girl right now named Natalie, which is kind of ironic.

How did you go about dealing with the strong personalities of the ladies this season?

I felt this season was a lot different from last season regarding the women. I did get along with more than I thought I would. The girls that I didn’t really care for, I just kind if, I don’t know, brushed them off. Except for Michelle. Michelle was the only girl that really got to me. At the end of the day, when people see her episode, they saw her character and what I saw, and how I tried to make David see that at the time, because he was so blinded. But you now her and I have talked since the show, and we’re actually really cool. And believe it or not, Kendra and I are okay as well… I don’t like to hold grudges, so if somebody reaches out to me and apologizes, then that’s water under the bridge.

So most of the ladies reached out to you?

Yeah. Yep, they all have. Like if they said something wrong they’re like, “I’m really sorry I said that,” or “I hope we can move on from this,” and I respect people like that so absolutely I’ll be their friend. And we were all in this together. We’re all this crazy, messed up, naked family.

Would you do it all over again?

Yes. I would do it in a heartbeat. And it’s crazy because I think about all the episodes and everything I’ve done, and it’s just like one simple move or different – like if I would’ve changed my mind with one thing, it would’ve changed how the whole season happened. It’s crazy thinking about it, but yes, I would do it all over again.