Bachelor in Paradise's two-night premiere continued with the events that transpired after production's temporary shutdown -- including a candid conversation among the returning cast members in Mexico -- due to the DeMario Jackson and Corinne Olympios scandal.
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The entire original Season 4 cast was present, except for DeMario and Corinne. Bachelor in Paradise host Chris Harrison thought it was necessary to have a group discussion before filming resumed about how everyone was feeling as well as the incident itself and what allegedly did or did not happen.
Chris explained Warner Bros. had hired an outside firm to look into Bachelor in Paradise footage as well as conduct interviews with witnesses. Since the show, its staff and cast were all cleared of misconduct allegations, everyone agreed they were happy with the results of the investigation.
The cast seemed to agree that nothing serious even happened between DeMario and Corinne, suggesting the Bachelor in Paradise producer who initially filed the complaint had blown the situation out of proportion.
On the topic of excessive alcohol and intoxication, Taylor Nolan insisted that the people in Paradise are all adults and should be held accountable for their own actions.
Taylor said the show is not scripted and the cast is never forced to do or say anything. She also added that producers shouldn't have to babysit the cast and the staff never even suggested she have a drink considering she chooses to live a sober lifestyle.
Raven supported that notion, telling Chris that production was wrongly blamed for the incident and it was unfair how people initially spoke of DeMario. Raven disagreed with putting any blame on DeMario, and she said she felt bad for both individuals involved.
Raven, Kenneth "Diggy" Moreland and several other bachelors and bachelorettes noted how it's unfortunate such a dark cloud will be associated with DeMario going forward even though he was cleared of accusations.
The cast said it's unfortunate this issue will surface every time he his searched online, adding that press headlines may be viewed as "baggage" to a company and affect his future employment opportunities.
Arguably the most significant part of the group conversation was when the majority of the Season 4 cast agreed race played a role in the scandal. When Chris asked flat out if that was the case, there were multiple head nods and even an "absolutely" heard from the crowd.
Raven, being from Arkansas, said she empathized with DeMario because of the stigma of interracial couples and how African American men tend to be blamed for crimes they did not commit.
Raven and Jasmine Goode were both very vocal about DeMario's innocence when the scandal made national headlines, and both women insisted their goal was to stand up for DeMario -- but definitely not to slut-shame Corinne as many fans had accused them of doing. Raven and Jasmine argued that neither DeMario or Corinne had done anything wrong.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOWHowever, Chris then pointed out how Corinne had called herself "a victim" in a statement released during the time production was suspended. Danielle Maltby explained that Corinne probably made that comment in order to "save face." (According to prior reports, Corinne had a boyfriend back home when she filmed Bachelor in Paradise).
Alex Woytkiw said Corinne's statement was "unfortunate," and Derek Peth added that it was "vague" enough to allow people to form opinions and judgments about the situation.
Raven then dropped a bomb, revealing to the cast that she had been sexually assaulted in a past relationship and so that's why she took the situation so personally. Raven felt for victims of such circumstances and thought it was terrible for a person to be wrong accused of such a crime.
After all the heavy talk, the cast agreed they wanted to continue filming Paradise and were thrilled to be back. The whole dynamic of the cast, however, had changed since filming stopped for nearly two weeks and every had returned home.
Some couples, for example, kept in touch during the off-period -- such as Taylor and Derek, who figured out that their relationship was real and getting serious -- and Dean Unglert and Kristina Schulman. Dean actually visited Kristina in Kentucky.
Meanwhile, both Robby Hayes and Ben Zorn were still stuck on Raven, who admitted to her girlfriends she had "ghosted both of them." Raven noted, however, she planned to give Ben her rose.
As for Alex and Amanda Stanton, they had built a friendship back home, but Amanda confessed to her pals that she had no interest in giving Alex her rose. Alex allegedly made comments that rubbed some of the cast members the wrong way and Amanda realized she had no romantic feelings for him.
The other couples who were hitting it off were Jamsine and Matt Munson, as well as Danielle and Jack Stone.
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The seemingly-official pairings left eight guys gunning for five roses.
Matt began having second thoughts about whether he wanted to be tied down to Jasmine for the rest of the show, because things were moving quickly between them. But Jasmine admitted she'd be pissed if Matt accepted a date invitation from someone else.
Matt just wasn't in the same place that Jasmine was in, and she later cried to the cameras about how she wanted to be "all in" with someone who wanted to be "all in" with her. Jasmine was in search of a relationship and tired of being disappointed.
Meanwhile, Alex still felt connected to Amanda and he really liked her, but his consistent advances made Amanda uncomfortable and more turned off. Alex was not only blocking Amanda's conversations with other men, but he wouldn't seem to leave her alone.
Amanda said she already has two kids and didn't need "another little person following me around." She didn't like how Alex was coming across possessive, because while she used to be attracted to that trait in the past -- given it typically indicates a guy is crazy about a girl -- she didn't want that type of relationship again.
Since Alex allegedly wasn't taking a hint, Amanda had to tell him flat out that if she gave him a rose at the upcoming Rose Ceremony, it would strictly be a friendship rose and not an intimate gesture.
Dean said that Amanda didn't have a tolerance for annoying people, and Alex became pissed off, venting about how nice guys finish last and he should've acted like "an assh-le."
As for Lacey Mark, her potential romance with Ignacio "Iggy" Rodriguez had completely fizzled.
Lacey said he was "full of sh-t" and just wanted a rose to continue hanging out with his boys. Lacey wasn't clicking with any of the guys in Paradise so far, and she felt like a bit of an outsider. She then revealed her love interest was Daniel Maguire from JoJo Fletcher's season of The Bachelorette.
Lacey hoped Daniel would arrive in Mexico or else she'd probably be rejected at a future Rose Ceremony since the women had the power this week.
Derek then received a Date Card and he enjoyed a dinner date with Taylor. They both agreed that "the one" doesn't exist and they were looking for someone to complement their independent lifestyles.
Derek and Taylor really began falling for each other, and Taylor noted that there was potential for love. With that being said, Taylor decided to spend the night with Derek.
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Kristina hoped they were on the same page, but Dean was noncommittal and guarded. He even told Kristina that he didn't "feel good about anything" that was going on between them. With that being said, Kristina said the situation "f-cking sucks," and she walked away and cried to Nick Benvenutti and Wells Adams at the bar.
Kristina wanted to be first in someone's eyes, and if it wasn't going to be Dean, she said she'd find someone else.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
