by Gina Scarpa

Not everyone is cut out for reality television competitions and Kristin Hassan discovered that a little too late.  After competing in the first challenge, and landing in the bottom, she realized that being on Bravo’s The Fashion Show just wasn’t for her.  She quietly exited at the beginning of the second episode and today, spoke to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview about her decision to bow out.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you want to go on a reality show, specifically, The Fashion Show?
A. Kristin: That’s a tough question, actually.  I never really saw myself as a reality contestant.  The opportunity fell in my lap and I thought it would be a great career move

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: The Fashion Show only covered your exit in the first few minutes of the episode last night.  I almost missed it.  Tell us what lead to your decision to go.
A. Kristin: Being on the set of a reality show is stressful.  There’s a lot more to it than what you guys see on tv.  At the end of the day, I just had to remind myself that I’m a fashion designer and I’m a business person.  I’m not a reality star or a tv personality.  I had to get back to the place where I could be those things without any restrictions.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: The designers on the show are certainly a group of characters.  Are they the kind of people that you would normally socialize with?
A. Kristin: I’m your average Midwest girl.  I’m my circle, I’m the weird one with the pink hair but when I got with these other people, I felt so normal.  They’re definitely characters.  Everyone was super nice and I think their hearts were in the right places.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Did you feel the judges were helpful during panel?
A. Kristin: I think that they were trying to help us but their feedback came off a little negative, I guess.  They were definitely a little harsh.  Kelly and Isaac, I think, made good tv.  You can’t take it all too seriously.  I respect that they are prominent in their industries but some of that stuff

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Which designers are you a fan of?
A. Kristin: My husband is a huge fan of Reco, actually!  We like watching Reco.  Anna and I got along really well and I thnk she has the skills to make it in this competition. 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What's in the future with you?
A. Kristin: We have a lot of stuff going on.  We launched our website at organic evolution.com.  The other big thing we’re working on is Chicago Fashion Rocks, which takes place during Chicago Fashion Week.  It’s a rock concert/fashion show.  My husband’s band is playing at it and my line will be on the runway.  It’s gonna be great!

The Fashion Show airs Thursday nights at 10pm ET on Bravo.

(Image courtesy of Bravo)