‘Never in My Wildest Dreams’ (Exclusive)

TooFab spoke to the Vanderpump Rules alum after her elimination and unmasking Wednesday night, where she revealed why The Masked Singer trumped her years-long dream of being on Dancing with the Stars.

“This was my Dancing with the Stars. It was. I always had pictured myself on Dancing with the Stars since the first season. I’m like, ‘One day I’m going to do this show.’ I never pictured myself on The Masked Singer,” she shared. “And this was something like, never in my wildest dreams — if you went back and asked little Scheana, ‘Do you think one day you’ll be on national primetime television singing in a costume of a bat?’ No. So, to be able to get this opportunity, and to not have to audition for it, to have it offered to me like, ‘Hey, we want you for this character.’ It felt so amazing.”

She continued, “it gave me that confidence boost that I feel like I’ve lost in 11 years of being on a reality show, and I’m like, You know what? Whether I sound good or not, whether I get made fun of or not, I’m accomplishing something huge for myself and I’m really freaking proud, and I hope my daughter is too.”

Shay originally turned down the offer to be on TMS, telling TooFab fear and her nerves got the best of her, but ultimately, she decided to “face her fears” head on and go for it.

“I’ve got really gnarly OCD, and this was exposure therapy on 100. It was really a hard no at first. Took a little convincing, a great call with [producer] Deena Katz, and … I thought about it, and I was like, ‘You know what? I want to say yes to more things. I don’t want to miss out on opportunities because I’m afraid, afraid of being made fun of’ — but singing on national television on prime time, live, with no backing track or auto-tuned mic? I was just like, ‘I don’t know about this. I don’t know if this is for me,’ but we did it,” Shay said.

“Incredible experience. The most amazing production team. I was just so sad. It was over so soon,” she added.

Being behind the mask of The Bat gave Shay some freedom as well.

Separated from the “villain” character she’s been portrayed to be over the years on VPR, when she stepped on The Masked Singer stage, Shay was able to just be herself.

“So free,” she said of what that moment felt like. “I mean, to just come out on stage, I did my high kick and I was just like, ‘This is so fun. No one knows it’s me. My voice is distorted.’ I had no idea I was going to have as much fun as I did. And I’m just so glad that I didn’t let fear overcome me. And I said yes.”

The costume, which Shay called “iconic,” actually wasn’t as cumbersome as it looked, giving the reality star the room to dance and saunter across the stage as she performed her rendition of the Sabrina Carpenter hit, “Espresso.”

“The head actually wasn’t as heavy as I thought it was going to be. There was room to breathe. They did have to put like a bicycle helmet under it because my head is small and it was kind of tilting. And I’m like, ‘If I move a little bit and it falls off.’ So they cranked the bicycle helmet really tight. And I was like, ‘We’re good. We’re not going to fall off,'” Shay revealed.

“And then they added a slit into the dress because if I made it to my second song, there was going to be that splits moment,” Shay said of the dance move she was going to do had she advanced to the next round. “So I was like, ‘I need the slit in this dress to do the splits.’ And we didn’t get there, but that’s okay. I had so much fun doing it.”

Looking ahead, Shay, who is set to star in season 2 of The Valley, isn’t ruling out any more competition shows, particularly if The Traitors comes calling.

“I think this season has been so entertaining. So it’s such an incredible show. I fell in love with it last season,” Shay said of the Peacock series. “This season, I mean, it doesn’t disappoint. And I’m like, ‘This is my new super fan moment.’ Like, I’m obsessed with that show. It’s just, it’s so good.”

She added, “This was new for me with the competition series, but you know, whether I get sent home the first night, which I mean, it’s always disappointing, but also in hindsight, I’m like, ‘You know what? Let’s leave them wanting more instead of being like, ‘why is she on this show?’ So I’m very proud of my performance. I’m so happy with how everything shook out for me. And we’ll see what’s next.”

The Masked Singer continues next Wednesday with “Ghostbusters Night” at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.