Cory Wharton is still catching heat for his interactions with Izzy Fairthorne on ‘The Challenge: Cutthroat’– and this time, Izzy herself is calling out the father of three for not telling the “full truth” about his relationship status with Taylor Selfridge.
In a new interview with Page Six’s ‘Virtual Reali-Tea,’ Izzy discussed the “sensitive topic” of the “Cory situation.” She told listeners that Cory wasn’t completely honest with her about where he stood with Taylor during filming.
“At the time, obviously I was told what his situation was at home, and maybe it wasn’t the full truth … ,” Izzy said.
As fans know, Cory claimed on the show that he and Taylor– the mother of his two youngest children– were going through some difficulties in their relationship when he left to film the season, despite the two still living together with their children. Though Cory never claimed on the show that he was single, he engaged in some heavy flirtation with Izzy on-camera and even tried at one point to have sex with her in a gazebo outside of the ‘The Challenge’ house.
As you do…
Cory and Izzy’s on-camera connection ultimately came to an end when Cory left the show after finding out his youngest daughter Maya had suffered a medical emergency. Prior to his exit, however, Cory’s best friend Nelson Thomas pulled Izzy aside privately and asked her to “stay away” from Cory, given his situation at home with Taylor.
“If I go home or not, I’ve got to tell Izzy, ‘Can you please stop?’” Nelson told viewers before speaking directly to Izzy about the situation. “‘Taylor does not deserve this. I know you don’t know who that woman is, but that is the mother of Cory’s kids. She holds it down. Right now is not the time. Figure this s**t out later down the road. Let Cory figure this out.’”
Izzy told Reali-Tea that she initially believed Cory was being forthright about his relationship with Taylor, but Nelson’s confrontation made her question what he was telling her.
“ … when Nelson came to me, I was obviously very shocked and taken aback about how rude he was,” Izzy said of Nelson’s ambush. “I was like, ‘What are you on about?’ But then ultimately, that also made me realize, you know, there’s something else going on here and there’s a reason [Nelson’s] doing it.”
Izzy went on to reveal that she and Nelson “actually spent a lot of time together after the show,” and that any ill feelings she had towards him are long gone.
“ … me and Nelson are completely fine now, and I also see his perspective,” she said. “Now I know everything, I’m like, ‘You were just protecting your friend and doing the right thing.’”
Although Izzy made amends with Nelson, she hinted that she hasn’t forgiven Cory for trying to blame her for their ‘Cutthroat’ connection.
“There’s been a lot of chat about what Cory had said had actually happened, which wasn’t right,” Izzy said. “He’d obviously come back [home] and said it was me and I was pushing against him. I’m not going to sit here and let him say that, because it’s not true. And I think you see it in the edit a little bit as well. Luckily they showed it, because if they didn’t, I don’t know what I’d be doing.”
Despite receiving some vindication after the episodes aired, Izzy acknowledged that, in hindsight, she was involved in a “horrible situation.”
“Watching it back, I look at it and I’m like, now [that] I know the full situation, I’m like, that’s not me, that’s not my character,” Izzy said. “I mean, it shouldn’t be me that’s upset, it’s other people in the situation at the end of the day, and it’s horrible.
“It’s horrible to watch, to be honest,” she added.
Cory initially claimed that the show’s editors were purposely trying to make him look like a “villain” this season, only to issue an apology on social media after the infamous “gazebo” scene aired.
“So I just wanna say this quick, I’ve apologized to the person who needed to hear it the most,” Cory said, referring to Taylor, who has also shared her take on Cory and Izzy’s actions. “I’m gonna continue to handle things behind closed doors. It’s been a very long time since I haven’t been proud of who I see on camera and this is one of those times.
“I’m not trying to make excuses,” he continued. “I’m not trying to put the blame on anybody but myself. I’m a big boy. I knew what I was doing. I didn’t handle myself appropriately for the situation because the harm that it’s causing the people around me.”
Cory also told fans he was “selfish and being a narcissist,” while vowing to “get better” by seeking therapy and continuing to be a “loving and present father.”
New episodes of ‘The Challenge: Cutthroat’ are available to stream Wednesdays on Paramount+.
You can watch a clip from Izzy’s interview below.
RELATED STORY: Former ‘Challenge’ Star Robin Hibbard Gives Update on Her Recovery Following Years-Long Battle with Drug Addiction
(Photos: Paramount+; Instagram; MTV; Twitter)
Cory is trash. How embarrassing… and like you didn’t know you’d eventually get caught. You are on TV bruh… Are you THAT dense?! The only reason nothing happened too, isn’t because you are some sort of great partner- you totally would have went for it had Izzy chosen to. However, at the same time I am starting to see that Taylor is also the issue. She needs to walk away. She should have walked away a LONG time ago. I don’t think she’s staying for the money- does he actually have any? I am assuming that it’s the whole
“I don’t want to split my family apart” deal. which is INSANE. How is allowing this man to embarrass and disrespect you, especially while your daughters watch, acceptable?
I have twins that are now 14 with my ex husband. When they were 4 I had enough of the verbal abuse, the emotional abuse and his drinking- I left once and he agreed to marriage counseling. When we went to the counselor and they asked us if we were willing to do whatever it took to save our marriage, I said yes but he said basically he wasn’t willing to stop drinking to do so. So, I left again and it was for good. He never cheated, never humiliated me on national television… I just did not want my sons thinking how their dad talked to me and sometimes treated me was acceptable. I didn’t want him to speak to them the way he spoke to me. I didn’t want them thinking that is how you treat a partner. I didn’t want them seeing me- depressed and struggling, sad- just so our family wouldn’t be apart.
Fast forward to ten years later. I have a great job and for the most part, support us from a financial aspect. My ex husband has a little over 3 years sober now (finally), and has always been a good and present dad, just not a good partner. We remain close and he’s always been a part of my family. He still attends holiday and other family functions. We still very much work together co-parenting and our relationship is better than it ever was- but we both realize we are just not meant to be together romantically. Our “family” may not live in the same house, but that man is at my house a lot. He’s always there to help me- especially when it impacts the boys. Hell, I have another son, who is 7, from another relationship and he treats him like he’s his own. We’ve both grown and we’ve both moved on. For the most part we’ve been single, but I obviously dated my youngest sons dad (who heavily influenced my decision to not date anyone until my youngest is out of the house) and he’s dated casually, but regardless we are both happy and still very much a family- just not living under the same roof and not together romantically.
Taylor is still young. She’s beautiful and could likely find someone else or just do bad by her damn self. If I can handle three boys on my own, one of whom I have pretty much entirely raised on my own, she can do it! She’s just GOT to make that move! Stop letting him embarrass you, babe!
I cant imagine setting this example for my kids as a mother.
This is a 30 yr old man with two kids and a girlfriend at home. He needs to grow up. Reality star or not, these are the type of men to avoid. He will never change
i always questioned what did cory tell izzy exactly before judging her on this situation but hopefully this serves as a lesson to anyone to not engage with a guy who’s in a complicated situation of any kind with his last partner
and how many of yall wanna bet that taylor and cory are STILL living in the same house 💀 nobody should feel bad for her at this point because she’s been exactly where she wants to be
I want to feel sorry for Taylor, but she keeps giving Cory chances. How many times does this dude need to cheat or attempt to cheat before she finally gets it through her thick skull that he’s not changing and that he’ll never marry her or even propose? She needs to love herself more. Not just for her sake, but for her daughters. This stuff is public information and these little girls are going to learn that this type of behavior is ok from a partner since mom keeps forgiving dad for it.
I blame Cory because he was the one in the relationship.
At the same time I am not sure why Izzy thinks that “were going through some difficulties in their relationship” meant that they had broken up.
I do believe that he minimized his relationship with Taylor.