Brandon Gomes is gearing up to relive a challenging time in his life. Ahead of the season 4 premiere of MTV’s Siesta Key, ET’s Katie Krause spoke to the 26-year-old reality star about the drama that’s going to unfold for fans.
Season 3 of the series ended with a dramatic reunion, during which Brandon revealed that he fathered a child, a son named Quincy, with another girl while he was dating his now ex-girlfriend, Camilla Cattaneo.
“Coming into this from the reunion, I was at a point where I was running from all my problems, and I had so much baggage on my chest, and I just wasn’t accepting of myself,” he said. “I was so mad at myself and I was in denial. This season, you get to see me face all those problems and work through them.”
While Brandon is proud of where he is today, he admitted that watching all the drama play out on TV, months after it occurred in real life, will be “extremely hard” for him.
“When we shoot these seasons, if we’re going through something, we grow through it, and we get better through it,” he said. “… We’re not reliving it until it airs, and, when it airs, it brings us back to that spot we were at.”
Given that, Brandon, who said he “wasn’t really all jolly this whole season,” noted the “most emotional part” for him will be “just trying to be the best father I could be, and just balance everything.”
“I’ve been extremely vulnerable. I’ve been extremely open to letting everyone into my life,” he said. “… I have a son now and everything that is going on in my life — from my music, to being a father, to just being a friend of the group — has all been just crazy this season.”
When it comes to fatherhood, Brandon said the experience has been “so fun and just exciting, and challenging, and everything you could think of in between.”
“I wasn’t necessarily ready to be a father, but I’m so happy that I’m stepping up in the way I am,” he said. “… I just hope that me being open and letting everything be exposed, can help anyone get through something they may be going through… Fatherhood has been a blessing all in all.”
When Brandon became a dad, he also became a co-parent with his son’s mother. That dynamic, he said, will play out during season 4.
“You’re going to see some of the differences we have and you’re going to see all the challenges that stem from the circumstances [in which] we had a child,” he teased. “At the same time, you’ll see how powerful it can be to let your ego go and let everything go, and just focus on light, and focus on your son.”
As for where he stands with Camilla, Brandon said that, while they’ve “come a long way” since the reunion, things aren’t back to how they used to be.
“You get to see all those steps — the first time communicating, us being around each other a lot and [the] awkwardness of it, but how powerful it is that we could still talk and communicate,” he said. “At the end of the day, we were best friends before this all happened. It’s hard to just lose all that. You get to see… what’s going on there.”
Though they’re not back together, Brandon wasn’t shy about saying that he still loves his ex.
“At the end of the day, I still love her. I’ve expressed that,” he said. “It’s hard coming from being on the wrong side of the fence, like I am. I’m the one that all of these problems stemmed from. I have to take accountability for that. That’s what I’ve been doing.”
“I can’t sit here and act like things can just get back to where they were without any ramifications or linger in hurt,” he continued. “This is all still fresh to me and I’m just trying to navigate through it all. But Camilla, [I’ve] still got lots of love for her.”
With that love for Camilla still lingering, Brandon confirmed that he is currently single.
“I have so much going on right now that I want to really take this time to sit still and listen to myself and be there for Quincy before going into a relationship,” he said. “… I don’t want to spread myself out too much and not give everybody the love that they should get from me right now.”
Despite all the drama, Gomes isn’t thinking about leaving Siesta Key anytime soon.
“I would love to keep going. I’m very blessed, and we are very blessed, to be a part of this show,” he said. “If it all makes sense, let’s keep it going.”
