'Love Is Blind' star Deepti responds to people who think her relationship with Kyle was a PR stunt: 'We didn't come up with a divisive plan'

• Deepti Vempati told Insider she and ex Kyle Abrams didn't come up with a "divisive plan" to date.
• In an interview with Insider to promote her book, she said she and Kyle are now "distant friends."
• Deepti said she's looking for "authenticity" in a future partner. 

Deepti Vempati was finally able to get honest about her relationship with her "Love Is Blind" castmate Kyle Abrams in her new book "I Choose Myself," which was released in September.

While the relationship was over before the public knew it had ever begun — the friends decided to give dating a try on the "After the Altar" season two special, which was filmed earlier in 2022 — Deepti had a response for anyone who thought her relationship with Kyle was a PR stunt.

"I think it's really hard to read those because I had a friendship, and a really close friendship, with Kyle since last October," she said of some of the comments she'd seen accusing them of faking their relationship. "We didn't come up with a divisive plan to do anything. This is just our real life and our real feelings, and we are being vulnerable enough to share it with everyone."

She said that their vulnerability makes people think they can have opinions on the relationship, but added, "I know what the truth is, and Kyle knows what the truth is, and it really doesn't matter what other people think."

Kyle and Deepti met during the pods stage of "Love Is Blind" season two, but Deepti got engaged to Abhishek "Shake" Chatterjee and eventually left him at the altar. Kyle and his fiancé on the show, Shaina Hurley, ended their relationship before their wedding day.

In her book, Deepti explained that she didn't meet Kyle in person until the summer of 2021, after filming for their season of "Love Is Blind" had ended. They were flirtatious and even shared a kiss one night, but didn't move their relationship beyond friendship at the time because they were scared to express their feelings to each other. 

On "After the Altar," they were forced to have intense conversations with each other that they were avoiding, and they decided to try dating after the filming of the special ended. 

Deepti revealed in her book that the couple had communication issues and were on different paths, so they eventually decided to end their romantic relationship and remain friends. She pointed to Kyle's "flirtatious" nature with other women as one factor that ended their relationship. She also said they found it difficult to be in the public eye while having to remain coy about their status. 

In her book, Deepti also explained why seeing Kyle with other women after they broke up was difficult for her, leading them to drift apart.

"I could see he was putting in a different kind of romantic effort, unlike with me," she wrote. "Kyle was taking women on thoughtful dates, buying flowers, and spending money. He never did these things with or for me."

She told Insider that she's "distant friends" with Kyle now: "I think we were so codependent that it was tough, and we just needed to take a step back and kind of figure out life on our own."

As for what she's looking for in a future partner, Deepti said "authenticity" is key for her. 

"I'm looking for somebody who has high emotional intelligence, who has self-awareness. And I think those are the traits that mean more to me and define success more than having a lot of money or whatever else," she said. 

"I Choose Myself" is available for purchase now. Season three of "Love Is Blind" premieres Wednesday, and the first two seasons are currently streaming.