'Bachelor in Paradise' recap: Bachelorettes and bachelors begin pairing off before production halts

Bachelor in Paradise's fourth season debuted with the first several of days of footage leading up to the temporary shutdown of production due to the Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson scandal during Monday night's episode on ABC.


The show's premiere kicked off with Bachelor in Paradise host Chris Harrison explaining that producers' goal every year is to create a "summer of love and fun" and help bachelors and bachelorettes find their soul mates.

Chris said viewers were going to watch two-and-a-half days of production before filming was suspended.

Raven Gates was the first person to step foot in Paradise at Mexico's Playa Escondida resort. She felt "super hopeful" coming into the show that she could find love and potentially get engaged at the end of the process. Raven felt this was her time and she was more ready than ever to have a partner.

Dean Unglert arrived next, hoping to meet someone he'd fall head over heels in love with following Rachel Lindsay's The Bachelorette season. Raven found Dean cute and admitted she had a little crush on him.


Kristina Schulman was next to arrive at the Mexican resort, and she was also happy to see that Dean was one of the first guys there. She called him "dreamy."

Danielle Maltby and Ben Zorn made their way into Paradise next, and Ben called Raven "gorgeous." During their first conversation, however, Ben talked nonstop about his dog Zeus at home, and Raven appeared a little disinterested.

Ignacio "Iggy" Rodriguez, Jasmine Goode and Jack Stone joined the group next, and Jasmine said she was looking forward to meeting Rachel's guys because they're interested "in dating a girl that looks like me."

Danielle was intrigued by Jack but thought Dean was really handsome. Alexis Waters then showed up to Paradise dressed in her "dolphin" costume, which viewers know is a shark costume. Jack thought Alexis seemed really cool but wondered her "porpoise" for coming to Paradise.

Afterward, Raven vented to the group about how she didn't like that DeMario Jackson had a girlfriend when he competed for Rachel's heart, and Danielle agreed she's "not attracted to douchebags."


When DeMario arrived, he told Chris that Lexi -- his alleged girlfriend back home -- wasn't actually his girlfriend at the time; however, the bachelor confessed he probably led her on. DeMario insisted to Chris he was looking for the future Mrs. Jackson and hoped people would see a new side to him, that he's a pretty nice guy who's on the show for the right reasons.

But Raven called DeMario "a cheater" and "assh-le" behind his back. Once DeMario joined the group, he told everyone that he's "100 percent single" and on Paradise "100 percent to find love."

DeMario then pulled Raven aside because he could tell that she was the leader of the group and he therefore wanted her approval. DeMario didn't win Raven over because she still thought he was "full of sh-t," but DeMario tried to get along with everybody.

Derek Peth and Alex Woytkiw from JoJo Fletcher's season of The Bachelorette then stepped foot one by one on the resort of Playa Escondida. Derek quipped that Alex is "a little guy" and hoped he wasn't going to "act like a douchebag," but Alex thought they were friends.

Corinne then made her presence known in Paradise. She told Chris that, while she didn't have a boyfriend, she wasn't ready to settle down and jump on the first guy who showed her attention. Corinne explained to cameras that the guys needed to work hard for her and her experience in Paradise was going to be much different than her time fighting for Nick Viall on The Bachelor because she'd be in charge.


Iggy thought Corinne and himself were the life of the party, and DeMario admitted he wanted to get to know Corinne since Day 1.

Dean then pulled Kristina aside and the couple talked about their families. Since they both had difficult childhoods, considering Dean's mother had passed away when he was a teenager and Kristina was adopted from a Russian orphanage, the pair immediately bonded. Dean said Kristina seemed like "a real gem."

Lacey Mark then arrived in Paradise and figured no one would recognize her other than the fact she introduced herself to Nick on The Bachelor by riding in on a camel. Iggy thought Lacey was hot, and then Vinny Ventiera joined the cast, followed by Kenneth "Diggy" Moreland, whom Danielle called "a dreamboat."

At the bar, Corinne and DeMario started talking, and despite Corinne's statement on making a guy work for her affection, it didn't take long for her to flirtatiously jump into his arms. DeMario was then shown giving Corinne a back massage.

That's when Matt Munson walked into the resort wearing a penguin costume and Nick Benvenutti showed up wearing a Santa Clause hat and beard since his nickname is "Saint Nick." Nick revealed he came to Paradise to meet Jasmine and he thought she was really hot. Jasmine was also very excited to see Nick and get to know him.


In no time at all, Nick and Jasmine were making out by the fire at night, and Jasmine said the kiss was "so good" and she wanted more.

The next day, Amanda Stanton arrived in Paradise, explaining to Chris that she did fall in love with Josh Murray last summer but she had been a little naive, ignoring "red flags" she saw and heard about him. Amanda never thought she'd return to Paradise, but she wasn't ready to give up on love. Amanda also gave Chris her engagement ring back.

"He's a sweaty person," Amanda quipped to the cameras when talking about Josh, adding that she wasn't going to rush into anything this time around.

Taylor Nolan then stepped foot in Paradise. She was a little afraid to put herself out there again, but she wanted to at least take the chance. All she knew was that she wanted to redeem her reputation and wasn't going to allow a "Corinne and Taylor Part 2" show since the girls butted heads terribly on Nick's season.

Derek and Taylor quickly hit it off, but Alexis wasn't feeling anyone yet. Meanwhile, Corinne was feeding DeMario and sitting on his lap. Alex noted to the cameras that DeMario and Corinne were "clicking" and looked like they had a real connection.


Corinne and DeMario were then shown jumping into the pool fully dressed at 4:30 in the afternoon, and Alex said they seemed "attached at the hip."

Chris then gathered the group at Playa Escondida and announced Jorge would no longer be serving as the bartender. That's when Wells Adams arrived to be the new bartender, and Amanda noted to the cameras it was a bummer because if she had received a Date Card, she probably would have asked Wells out.

For the first time in Bachelor in Paradise history, the ladies would be handing out the roses for Week 1.

That night, Derek built a fire for Taylor outside, proving he's an outdoorsman, which is a quality she finds very sexy in a man. Taylor came to Paradise assuming no one would be interested in her, or vice versa, but she and Derek both liked each other.

Danielle, however, was struggling to find a love match. Dean made Danielle's stomach flip because he's "the babe of Paradise" and "definitely the hottest guy" there, but he was clearly bonding with Kristina, who received a Date Card and asked him out officially.

Danielle and Wells are apparently good friends, and since they got along so well, she began wondering if he's the type of guy whom she should date.


Although Dean didn't give Kristina much consideration going into the show, he was pumped about their date because she's "such a sweetheart."

Meanwhile, Iggy and Lacey had a lot of chemistry, and he thought she was really sweet.

During Dean and Kristina's date that night, they both felt very lucky to have one another. He called Kristina beautiful and easy to talk to, while she thought Dean was really sweet. Kristina confessed to cameras she felt more chemistry with Dean than she had experienced with Nick on The Bachelor.

Dean and Kristina's date wrapped with a kiss when the pair was dancing to the music by a local mariachi band. Dean called it "the best date ever."

Back at the resort, Jasmine noticed that Nick got "hammered" drunk, and she didn't want to hold a conversation with him under those circumstances. As a result, Matt stole Jasmine away, and she appreciated how he didn't try to play a character for the cameras.

Jasmine and Matt ended up making out in a hot tub, and things were clearly getting steamy between the bachelor and bachelorette.


The following morning, Ben made it known he was into Raven, while Iggy was clicking with Lacey. However, Lacey sadly learned her grandfather had passed away, so she had to leave Mexico and go home to attend all the funeral events. Lacey hugged Iggy goodbye in tears and wished she had a boyfriend to hold her hand through this tough time.

Iggy was worried because if another guy arrived, that meant a total of four guys would be going home at the first Rose Ceremony.

And that's when Robby Hayes arrived in Paradise, telling Chris he had a year of personal growth and really believed in the process. Robby was ready to "take a bull by its horns" in this dating process.

Alex thought Robby was "a hot commodity" in Paradise because of his good looks and charming personality. Likewise, Corinne said all the girls wanted the date with Robby, who walked into Playa Escondida with a Date Card.

Robby felt he hit it off with Raven quickly because they had the runner-up title in common given their experiences on The Bachelor/ette franchise. Robby therefore asked Raven out on his date, which made Ben upset because he really wanted to get to know Raven better.

For their date, Robby and Raven went jet-skiing. Robby was very attracted to Raven and her southern accent pulled at his heartstrings since he's from Georgia and she's from Arkansas. The couple's date ended with a kiss in the ocean after their wild ride.


Meanwhile, at the resort, Danielle discovered she loved talking to Jack; however, she couldn't tell if he was interested in her in return. DeMario was also romantically interested in Alexis, saying she was like "one of the homies" but also "drop-dead gorgeous."

When Raven and Robby returned from their date, Robby said it was "a great start" to his journey in Paradise, while Raven told the girls she was missing a spark with Robby. Raven then began making fun of Robby, saying she can't date someone who's "prettier" than her and has nicer hair and more defined abs.

Raven also poked fun at the fact Robby called himself "a social media influencer," so it became apparent she didn't want to pursue a romance with Robby any further -- although he was "100 percent confident" he'd be receiving a rose at the first Rose Ceremony -- which opened up the gates for Ben.

Just as Nick was trying to grab alone time with Jasmine, Matt received a Date Card and asked her out. She never had a one-on-one date in this franchise before, so she was really excited. Jasmine hoped to see Matt loosen up a little bit, and her wish was definitely granted.

Jasmine and Matt attended a drag show, and to top it all off, he got up onstage and allowed the actors to dress him up like a woman named "Virginia." Matt had the guts to model his dress and heels in front of the audience, and his courage won him some major points with Jasmine. Jasmine thought their personalities complemented each other really well.

When it became time for the season's first Rose Ceremony, Amanda to Alex were paired off, and Corinne planned to give her rose to Vinny since he's such a good guy and deserved to stay in Mexico. Besides the obvious couples, Danielle was into Jack. Corinne was also shown telling DeMario they were "homies."


That left Iggy, DeMario, Nick, Ben Z and Robby with some work to do. Ben therefore pulled Raven away from her conversation with Robby in attempt to win her over. When he kissed her, Raven admitted it was better than her kiss with Robby, which made both individuals laugh.

"Something astronomical would have to happen for me not to give my rose to Ben," Raven told the cameras.

The episode concluded with producers pulling Corinne and DeMario aside for private conversations. Everyone was confused and didn't know what was happening, and this is when production halted and, according to Danielle, "a chill came over Paradise."






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski