Juliette Porter’s relationship with Robby Hayes is highlighted in the previews for season three of Siesta Key, but some of her friends — particularly Chloe Trautman — make no secret of the fact that they’re skeptical about the romance. “I think a lot of people in our group don’t embrace change and they’re stuck in their ways,” Juliette told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY ahead of the season three premiere. “They don’t really like to introduce new people to the group. They’re not always there for other people when they want to be happy, and that’s just the way it is. Some of the people in our friend group just aren’t supportive. Sometimes, it’s for good reasons, but other times, they’re just not open to new things.”
She added that the criticism and skepticism from other cast members “definitely” took a toll on her summer romance with Robby, who she met at Stagecoach last April. “It starts as a big high where we’re loving life and everything’s happy,” Juliette explained. “We go away together, but then things get a little crazy, and you’ll see what happens once we’re settled back into Siesta Key.” The previews show Chloe confronting Robby AND Juliette about the relationship on more than one occasion, but Juliette is no stranger to Chloe meddling in her love life.
“She’s a really good friend in interesting ways,” Juliette told us. “She really does have your best intentions [in mind], but she comes about it wrong. I think she was genuinely worried that Robby wasn’t a good person and all that. I think it comes from a good place. Chloe NEVER likes my boyfriends!”
Of course, Robby is no stranger to reality television — he previously starred on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise — so dealing with the critics was nothing new for him. “I expected it,” he said. “Everyone’s skeptical and everyone wants to announce their opinions about why [it won’t work out]. I was prepared for it. I just came in wanting to have fun and have a good summer. Stagecoach [with Juliette and Kelsey Owens] was one of my best weekends of the year, so knowing I was going to be around them for the summer was exciting. I had a blast during [mine and Juliette]’s relationship, so I’m excited for people to see where we’re at.”
One person who’s not so excited about Juliette’s new romance is her ex, Alex Kompothecras, who she broke up with at the end of season two. “[The break up] was so bad,” Juliette revealed. “It was just really bad. I ended up just traveling everywhere to get my mind off of it, which was really helpful. But sometimes you kind of just need to just deal with the breakup rather than pretend it’s not happening. I was running away, for sure. I was still in school, but I wasn’t at school. I was doing everything online. I barely graduated!”
One positive thing to come out of the breakup, though, was Juliette’s friendship with Kelsey — who was her nemesis during season one of the show! “Kelsey and I became friends when we both broke up with our boyfriends,” Juliette explained. “We stated traveling everywhere together.” As for her breakup, Kelsey revealed, “It was really mature. He ended up breaking up with me, but I think it was absolutely for the best. He’s living in another state, while I’m in Siesta Key and busy. We’re just in different parts of our lives and different chapters, and we needed to grow separately. I think it was the best decision.”
We’ll see how it plays out for ALL the cast members when Siesta Key returns to MTV on Jan. 7 at 8:00 p.m. It’s going to be one wild season!