Bachelor in Paradise alum Leslie Fhima has given an update on where she currently stands with Gary Levingston.
On Bachelor in Paradise's latest episode, Leslie and Gary got eliminated, and the pair walked out of Paradise hand in hand.
Gary said in his final words that he planned to "continue to move forward" with Leslie in the real world "just in a different way."
According to Leslie, her relationship with Gary did, in fact, continue after the show -- but it never really heated up.
"We talk all the time. We were at the premiere together watching the show in L.A.," Leslie shared, referencing Bachelor in Paradise's Season 10 debut, during the Tuesday, August 5 episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast.
"Gary is now, I can honestly say, one of my best friends. He is calm if I have a problem. He kind of talks me off the ledge a little bit."
Leslie added in her conversation with the podcast's co-hosts Serena Pitt and Joe Amabile, "We are always there for each other and we always have each other's back."
It therefore appears Leslie and Gary's relationship has fizzled into more of just a friendship.
Leslie said she doesn't know how to define her dynamic with Gary because they "haven't spend time together" lately.
"We live in two separate cities -- I don't know what it could be," Leslie noted.
"All I know is that for me, a big thing with any relationship, a romantic one for sure, is I want to be friends first. Because I want to be with my best friend growing older."
Leslie went on to admit that even though she's unsure whether her relationship with Gary is a romantic one, they both care about each other immensely.
"That is a huge thing for me, and I don't know what it's going to be," Leslie said.
"But I know that we have special places in our hearts for each other and that's all I can say right now."
Leslie and Gary immediately hit it off in Paradise; however, they were sent home during the August 4 episode of Bachelor in Paradise after host Jesse Palmer introduced a new twist involving a potential $500,000 cash prize.
Bailey Taylor Brown -- who had won the first Paradise competition called High/Low -- was able to decide Leslie and Gary's fate on the show after Gary had made a big mistake during the competition.
Gary had bet half of his chips on a question about Leslie, knowing he and Leslie couldn't win no matter what and would've been safe had he bet just a single chip.
Sean McLaughlin called Gary's move the dumbest decision ever made on Paradise, and the cast teased Gary that they'll never go to Las Vegas with him.
"I could see he was visibly shaken and upset where he was thinking, 'Why did I do that?! Why did I do that?'" Leslie recalled.
"Listen, I have a family member that went through treatment for a gambling addiction. And if he's not a good gambler, that's okay with me. There could be worse things."
Leslie said she feels great about her experience on Bachelor in Paradise overall.
"You know what? We left the show together. I didn't leave brokenhearted. I didn't embarrass my children or my grandchildren. I didn't do any body shots, so I feel like I left the show in a good space for me," Leslie explained.
Leslie had said in her final words on Bachelor in Paradise, "Even though I'm sad and I wish we could have stayed, I think that we showed the young people that when you get older, you don't have to stop having fun or tame it down, obviously."
Prior to their Paradise stint, Leslie had finished as the runner-up on Gerry Turner's season of The Golden Bachelor in 2023.
Leslie admitted to going through "dark days" following The Golden Bachelor because Gerry had blindsided and devastated her during the show's finale in Costa Rica, where Bachelor in Paradise also coincidentally filmed.
Gary had competed for Joan Vassos' heart on The Golden Bachelorette in 2024.
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