‘Say Yes To The Dress’ Star Lori Allen Recalls “Freak Accident” That Occurred While Filming
Published on April 24, 2020.©TLC/courtesy Everett Collection
Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta fans are finally getting some insight into the terrible tumble Lori Allen took in April of last year.
PEOPLE obtained a sneak peek of Saturday’s season finale episode where Allen, the owner of Bridals by Lori in Atlanta, Georgia, is hospitalized shortly after falling while filming season 11 of the hit TLC show.
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Fashion director Monte Durham narrates the scary incident in a confessional throughout the clip.
“We had just finished filming when Lori fell and it just wasn’t any ordinary slipping on a dress,” Durham said. “She fell and hit pretty hard.”
The scene then cuts from the bridal shop where production was then filming to a blank screen that reads, “Cameras had stopped recording, but the audio continued recording…”
Off-camera, Durham yelled, “Oh, Lori! Are you okay?”
“No, I fell on my face. Oh my god,” Allen responded.
“Are you okay?” Durham asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied.
A producer then asked if Allen was bleeding.
“Yeah. Above the eyebrow,” Durham said.
“Oh I’m so hurt. Oh my hands,” Allen said.
As a result of her fall, they had to call the paramedics.
“For her to hit the floor so very hard, it’s pretty tough,” he said in the confessional clip. “There’s nothing we could do. We called the paramedics and tried to comfort her on the floor until they arrived. She just kept saying ‘It’s bad y’all, it’s bad.’”
While the tumble happened off-camera, the clip briefly showed Allen on a stretcher while surrounded by a team of paramedics.
“She’s strong, she’s going to get through this,” Durham added. “It’s going to be a long recovery, so we are waiting for an update on that.”
One year after Allen’s fall, she spoke to PEOPLE about her “freak accident” and shared how she’s doing now.
“We were filming the opening sequence of the show, Monte was spinning a dress, and the nude tulle train blended in exactly with the color of the hardwood floors as it fell to the ground and I walked out of the scene—and I slipped on the train and fell flat on my face,” Allen said to the publication. “I blacked out and don’t remember anything after that.”
“My nose and both wrists (all of which were broken in the fall) are still really sore,” she continued. “I can’t lift more than one bridal gown at a time, but I’m hoping my wrists improve.”
She added that her “recovery process was long and involved.”
“Although I eat right and exercise regularly, the fact is that my body and bones are weak from fighting breast cancer,” she said. “Through the fall, I learned I have osteoporosis which I am now treating. The fall reminded me to slow down and to be grateful for all of the amazing love and support I have in my life.”
Allen continued, “I used the recovery period to rest, heal, and rehabilitate, but I also came out of recovery feeling very peaceful and focused on making the best out of my next chapter.”
The bridal shop owner also thanked Monte and her team for being so concerned and caring for her after her frightening accident.
“Just like when I battled breast cancer, the entire team rose to the occasion to keep the store running,” she told the outlet. “I truly am so blessed to have an incredible team behind me.”
The season finale of Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta airs on Saturday, April 25, at 8 p.m. ET on TLC.