This post contains spoilers fromBachelor in Paradiseseason 7, episode 6.
Bachelor in Paradisepicked up Monday night with vetKendall Longreturning to Mexico with the intention of reconnecting with exJoe Amabile.
Kendall’s arrival immediately caused some disruption as Joe is in the midst of forging a strong connection withSerena Pitt. As the former couple stepped away from the group to catch up, Kendall said that there are “conversations” that they need to have that they’ve been avoiding.
“It’s difficult for me to like, not have you be a part of my life. I do want you in my life,” Kendall, 30, said. “You’re a special part of my life and I want you to be in my life in some capacity. And it’s hard to not have that. … You try to move on, but for some reason, it doesn’t feel right and it’s hard to.”
Kendall said it had been “really difficult” for her to go from being in a serious relationship with Joe to breaking up with him over logistical reasons. The former couple split last year after Kendall chose to remain in California while Joe moved back to his native Chicago.
Joe Amabile, Kendall Long.Robin L Marshall/Getty; Presley Ann/Getty
“We didn’t try,” Joe said as Kendall replied, “Because I knew that I didn’t want to end up living in Chicago for a number of reasons. I told you that in the beginning of our relationship.”
“I didn’t change my mind. I think you were hoping that I would,” Kendall continued.
“I think you should have wanted to at least try Chicago,” Joe added. “And your whole thing was I don’t want to move anywhere for a man. I should have been more than just a man at that point. And we could have tried it.”
Joe then brought up his established connection with Serena. “I like where I’m at with Serena,” he said. “But, you know, it’s still pretty early on. I don’t know if this is going to work again.”
Speaking in a confessional, Joe admitted that he’s unsure whether he still loves Kendall after all this time. “I have something going on with Serena that I don’t want to just throw away,” he said, noting that he has “no idea” what to do.
JOE AND SERENA DISCUSS KENDALL’S RETURN
Joe said there will likely be “more conversations” between the two exes going forward — but he made it clear that he still wants to pursue a relationship with Serena.
“This is where I’m at,” he continued. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s gonna be weird. But right now, you are my main priority. And I really, really like you. And I want to see where it goes. But if this is too strange for you …”
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Serena chimed in, “Well, I feel like you’re saying that and then you’re also like, ‘But I might not be over my ex, and she wants to get back together.'”
“No, I am over her. I am,” Joe replied, adding that he wants to “keep going on the pace that we’re going.”
Serena expressed her worries about Joe potentially getting “confused” down the road and asked for him to remain honest with her as things continue to progress. “Just be honest with me, because I don’t want to be involved in a messy situation here,” she said as he replied, “I will be 100 percent honest with you the whole time.”
“I guess we’ll see how it goes,” Serena added.
MARI’S RECONCILIATION ATTEMPT
The moment Kenny Braasch returned from his date withTia Booth(which took place during last Tuesday’s episode), Mari Pepin was quick to pull him aside. Mari, 25, admitted to Kenny, 40, that she still has feelings for him, despite pushing him away. (His recent pursuit ofDemi Burnettalso put further tension on their now-strained bond.)
“I still obviously really like you. And it’s been a very hard last few days seeing you with other people I guess the bottom line is I have feelings for you. And I think I needed to see that and feel what I was feeling to solidify where I was at,” she said. “I hate everything that happened. I wish it didn’t, because I felt like we were so strong and everything was going so well. And I regret that a lot.”
Kenny said he’s felt that there’s been “so much flip flop” regarding what Mari wants, after she previously said she still wanted to remain open to other possibilities while pursuing him. “I felt so strongly that I got scared because I knew what was there, and I really liked it,” Mari said in her defense.
“I’ve never felt so strongly for someone so soon,” she continued. “Having the last few days without you — like, I’ve been missing you this whole time, thinking about you this whole time. If you need time to think about it.”
Kenny then suggested that they “talk tomorrow at some point” about where they stand with each other, especially since he’s trying to “respect” his connections with Tia, 30, and Demi, 26.
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When Kenny later pulled Demi aside, he opened up about his date with Tia and conversation with Mari.
“This is like so f—— much. Like, I can’t stand this. This is, like, not cool. Like, this is not what I do. I don’t like it, I don’t like this at all,” demi replied after learning that Mari wants Kenny back. “I thought that we had so much fun together and stuff.”
After agreeing with Demi’s sentiment, Kenny explained that he’s not closing their door on their connection. Demi then questioned what will happen next for them, noting that he’s “in a little pickle.”
Demi then asked Kenny if he wanted to return to the boom boom room, which is used when the castmates want to gain intimacy and privacy with each other. Kenny politely declined.
PIEPER ARRIVES IN PARADISE
After rumors aboutBrendan Morais’ alleged secret romance withPieper Jamesemerged, she finally arrived in Paradise on Monday with a date card. Without speaking to anyone else on the beach, Pieper, 24, immediately asked Brendan, 31, to go on a date with her and he accepted the invitation.
Brendan pulled Natasha Parker, whom he had been building a connection with, aside to discuss his decision to accept Pieper’s invitation. He called Pieper’s arrival a “coincidence,” explaining that the “whole purpose of us being here is to figure out who our person is” and “who we have that undeniable spark with.”
“Obviously, as you know, I spent time with Pieper already [before the show] and we have a certain connection. And you and I have a certain connection. Exploring both is something that I want to do,” Brendan said as Natasha added, “I don’t understand why you would come here if you felt that your connection was strong and you guys were already seeing each other.”
Brendan claimed that his dynamic with Pieper had been “super casual” up until this point, calling this an “opportunity” for the pair to “have meaningful, deep conversations” in a date setting.
“It needs to be explored and that’ll kind of determine how we navigate the rest of this,” he continued.
Natasha pointed out that it “hasn’t been great” for her to deal with the “looming rumor” of his alleged pre-show romance with Pieper, for which Brendan apologized. “But we are in Paradise and this is the name of the game, I suppose,” he said. “We’ll obviously have an opportunity to talk more.”
ONE-ON-ONE DATE
On Pieper and Brendan’s one-on-one dinner date, the pair talked about how “happy” they were to finally be there together.
From there, Brendan said he wanted to be honest with Pieper about everything that has happened prior to her arrival, detailing his connection with Natasha. He also addressed how female cast members have confronted him about their romance.
“They came right to me and was like, ‘Are you and Pieper dating? Are you and Pieper a thing?’ You know, ‘Why are you here if you’re with Pieper?'” he said.
“The way I handled it was just like, cool, calm, relaxed,” he continued. “And [I] said like, ‘Pieper and I met, you know, not too long ago, but we’re not dating we’re not in a relationship, nothing exclusive. And in communication we had going into this, we never promised each other that we’re gonna leave paradise together as a couple,’ or ‘If you can’t come, wait for me when I get back,’ or all that stuff.'”
Pieper then suggested that Brendan was “downplaying” their bond. “I’m trying to understand where there’s the disconnect because like, I’m saying I’m here for you. And like, I want to make that, like, abundantly clear,” she said. “I could have just made it up in my head like, I was going to come in and everything was going to be, like, right back to where we left things. But I don’t know, it’s like I’m missing something.”
Wanting further clarity, Pieper asked Brendan exactly how he feels about her now.
“There’s certain things that have to be done and certain ways I have to navigate this to bring us to this particular moment. I can’t have a girlfriend, like, entering this whole journey,” he said, noting that it’s “not a good look” and that he likely would’ve been sent home early if he hadn’t done what he did.
After understanding his point, Pieper thanked Brendan for “playing the game” and said she wished she was “more privy” to his intentions before filming began. Brendan said that she needed to “trust” him and that they have to “have each other’s backs” in the process: “That’s the only way we’re going to get through this. Like, being in the position we want to be in, utilizing this time here and taking advantage of, you know what, Paradise would promote together.”
“I’m sorry that your first few weeks were less than ideal, but hopefully I can alleviate some of that pressure,” Pieper said. “Everyone can just hate us but they can hate us together, that’s fine too.”
The pair then shared a kiss. In a confessional, Pieper called Brendan her “boyfriend” and said that they are “dating.”
NATASHA CONFRONTS BRENDAN AND PIEPER
“I still need clarity, for me, because, you know, he came here and day one, we spent the most time together. Day two, he goes on a date [with Demi],” Natasha told Pieper. “But then, while he was gone [on his date], people [were saying] that Brendan and Piper are in a relationship. And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting because he’s here. Why would he be here if he’s in a relationship?’ "
Natasha asked Pieper questions about her history with Brendan, which resulted in her discovering that Brendan lied about how deep his bond was with Pieper truly was. “Last time I saw him was right before he flew to Paradise,” Pieper said, adding that they’ve hung out a total of 10 times.
Natasha argued that it sounded as if Pieper and Brendan were together before the show and planned to come on just to get exposure.
When she later talked to Brendan, he claimed that he never had “romantic” feelings for Natasha.
Though she disagreed with him, Brendan claimed to have told her that he didn’t “have those types of feelings” for her on a “romantic level” but was only giving her the rose to find love with someone else. After she claimed that he never said that, Brendan accused her of having “selective hearing.”
Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty Images (3)
Brendan said that she’s “entitled” to her opinion. Asking Brendan if he would accept another woman’s date card invitation if the opportunity arose, he responded: “I don’t know. Out of respect to the process of getting to know Pieper more, I think what last night did was turn my feelings for her into strong feelings and reassured me that this is something I want to pursue.”
Natasha said she “would have explored other things” had she known about Brendan’s preexisting feelings for Pieper. As Brendan question what connections she would have explored, she said there were other people she was interested in on day one.
“The difference is if you were honest and said ‘[We have a] strong connection, strong feelings,’ I would have definitely explored other [bonds], 100 percent,” she said “But you said that you guys hung out twice, she said 10 times. If you say it’s two times, she says it’s 10 times. Like Brendan, that’s a lie.”
Brendan said he didn’t recall Natasha’s claim, but she countered: “The core of the issue is, is that I feel like you’re a liar.”
Bachelor in Paradiseairs Mondays and Tuesdays (8 p.m. ET) on ABC.
source: people.com
