I'm just going to come out and say it. Although everyone seems to loathe Shake Chatterjee from Love Is Blind Season 2 for the way he talked about America's new sweetheart, Deepti throughout their relationship and generally being a bit of a douche bag, I have a soft spot for this guy. Not just because he's emerged as the show's resident jester, both on and offscreen, but because his response to being left at the altar was to announce to the cameras that he still had reservations at Nobu that coming weekend, so the proverbial glass was half full, even though he had just almost married a woman he could barely get himself to kiss. You can't make this Shake up, people.
Sure, Shake went in looking for someone he could hoist onto his shoulders at Coachella, but for a moment there heading into the finale, and in between digs at Deeps' appearance, it seemed like he was learning a lot about himself. I even rooted for Shake and Deepti to make it, despite the initial issues. I mean, the guy is a DJ and a veterinarian, so we know he contains multitudes and I was really hoping that he would prove all the haters wrong. He has a grass wall with a "RELAX" sign in his house. He couldn't be all bad, right?
Alas, that was not the case. After being left at the altar by Deepti, he went on to explain to his friends and family that he was hoping she would reject him so he didn't have to be That Guy. When he brought up Nobu, I was sure that he was a psychopath, albeit an optimistic one. I could not believe the words actually came out of his mouth, and, being the intrepid reporter that I am, I immediately got in contact with him to find out if he actually went and why in the hell that was his first thought as Deepti walked back down the aisle and out of his life. The details of the reservation show that maybe he's not a total asshole. I mean, he's a little bit of an asshole, but not a total one. Well, you can decide for yourself.
It turns out that Shake made his Nobu reservation for him and Deepti to meet up as a "planned debriefing." From the sound of it, neither one of them knew what they would say at the altar and were going to touch base no matter what, hence his optimism. He added that they had planned for their wedding to be a party "no matter what happened" and they did end up doing just that, even if Netflix viewers didn't get to see what that actually entailed.
Shake, who tells The Dipp that Nobu is his go-to "only for special occasions," added that he and Deeps did end up going to the dinner. But they weren't alone. Vito Salamone, the pizzeria owner who never made it past the pods in Season 2, also joined them. "Deeps and Vito went to college together," Shake says. Who knew?
He added that the best thing they ordered were lamb chops, which were "so good." Shake says that it didn't really feel like a breakup, which makes sense since there was little to no romance between them, so there was no question that they were going to meet up for their debrief. "At this point we were going through the motions because of how much fun we were having," he adds.
Things were also good between him and Deeps for a while after filming, he says. But things turned sour once the show started to air, and for good reason, as Deepti herself told BuzzFeed that it hurt to hear Shake say some of the things he said about her to literally everyone but her throughout the season. Shake admits that it's been rough. "I didn't seem incredibly apologetic for how I looked on the show. My explanation? I wasn't going to apologize for being candid and speaking my mind," Shake says.
As for all of the hate he's been getting online? Shake has been thoroughly basking in it all, as anyone who follows him on Instagram has likely noticed. "I am enjoying it! They usually hate me for the silliest reasons and it doesn't make me feel bad at all. In fact, I really enjoy giving them witty responses which will usually disarm them or make them more angry because it is clear it doesn't bother me. Lots of fun," Shake tells me.
Love Is Blind fans can try to tear the man down, but Shake's just not having it. Not when there are Nobu lamb chops to order, at least.
Images: Netflix, Shake's Instagram