Earl “the Pearl” Thompson won Shannon Beador’s heart on Bravo’s “Love Hotel” — but he wishes he had approached their relationship differently prior to their breakup. 

In an exclusive interview with Page Six’s “Virtual Reali-Tea,” the 59-year-old explains how he would have hopefully bypassed his first big fight with Beador over his aversion to vegetables. 

The Atlanta resident wishes he had remembered to tell the “Real Housewives of Orange County” star, 61, that he was allergic. 

“The way I usually get around that is I’ll say I’m allergic and boom, you’re done,” he reflects during his chat with co-hosts Danny Murphy and Evan Real. “I really just threw that comment out there casually and it just blew up. So I was like, ‘Wow.’”

During the May 11 episode of the dating reality show — also starring “Housewives” Gizelle Bryant, Ashley Darby and Luann de Lesseps — Beador ended a group dinner in tears after Thompson asserted that he didn’t eat vegetables. 

As the budding couple peered over the menu for the evening’s four-course meal, Thompson said, “I don’t know why they gave me this. I don’t eat vegetables.” 

A shocked Beador immediately questioned his eating habits. “What do you mean you don’t eat vegetables?” she asked. “Who doesn’t eat vegetables? It’s very important to eat greens.”

Thompson quipped back, “And pizza.”

The joke didn’t mitigate any tension, however, with Beador’s indignation over the surprise revelation only increasing. “Why do you always look surprised, like you want to slap me?” Thompson asked her. 

Beador then turned her attention to other suitors on the show, prompting Thompson to shut down and grow quiet. The “RHOC” personality then told him to “listen” and “participate” in the conversation, which made matters worse. 

Thompson accused Beador of being “critical” before she labeled him a “f–king prick.” 

Despite the conflict, the two patched things up and carried on with their romance until the end of Season 1. They continued to date after production wrapped in the fall of 2024, but ultimately called it quits. 

Thompson, who is currently single and open to meeting new women these days, clarifies that there are “certain vegetables out there that actually make me retch,” including asparagus — which was served during the night of his on-camera kerfuffle with Beador. 

Thompson tells “Virtual Reali-Tea” that dates are “usually” receptive when he shares this information. “If you say something like that, people understand it,” he says of revealing his allergy to women. 

He also wonders if his trajectory with Beador would have been different had he been given the opportunity to cook for her during their time filming the unscripted series in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. 

“I love cooking. I’d probably grill some steaks on the grill, on the Green Egg. And you know, make a really nice Caprese salad and select a nice bottle of wine,” he says of the meal he’d make for Beador. “A little [cabernet] action.”

Although their relationship fizzled, Thompson has no regrets about focusing on pursuing Beador during his “Love Hotel” journey. 

“We were [locked in] but there’s a reason for that, too. Like with Ashley, I have cats and dogs and she doesn’t like cats so that was out. Then with the other women [Gizelle and Luann], they had a lot of people talking to them,” he says. 

“Shannon was the most welcoming out of all of them, so I was kind of just drawn that way. I’m glad it was Shannon and I. I’m glad we got to really know each other and give it a shot.”

If Thompson were to run into Beador today, the aspiring actor anticipates that their interactions would be completely cordial. 

“I think we’re at a point where it would be easy like, OK, start talking, let’s go have a cocktail and just talk. I mean, I loved her kids,” Thompson says of the mom of three, who shares Sophie, 23, and 21-year-old twins Adeline and Stella with ex-husband David Beador. 

“I loved her dog [Archie]. And I met her dad [Gene]. It was really cool. We had some really long conversations and he’s just Gene the Machine. He’s just great.”

“Love Hotel” is available to stream on Peacock.