Bachelor in Paradise featured Will Urena in a tense love triangle with Kylee Russell and Olivia Lewis, Brayden Bowers connecting with Kat Izzo, Rachel Recchia making out with Sean McLaughlin, and Blake Moynes and Jess Girod hitting it off during the Season 9 premiere episode that aired Thursday night on ABC.

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The Bachelor in Paradise broadcast began with cast members packing up their bags, dancing in the streets, and heading to Mexico.

And host Jesse Palmer teased, "While we're certainly hoping for engagements here in the sand, one couple will actually get married right here on the beach!... You can hold me to it!"

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Rachel Recchia teased, "Paradise Rachel will be having a lot more fun," and she said she was looking forward to meeting Brayden Bowers, whom she said is "so hot." Brayden, meanwhile, said he was disappointed in himself for how he had reacted to drama in The Bachelorette and he's grown a lot since that experience.

Brayden said he was excited to meet Kat Izzo, Jessica "Jess" Girod, or Kylee Russell. Kylee said she was interested in Aven Jones, who had been liking all of her photos on Instagram and then sent her a fire emoji.

"I just hope no one comes between us," Kylee said.

Aaron Bryant shared how his breakup with Charity really hurt him and tore him up. He said he had so much love to give and wanted to start a life with somebody.

Mercedes Northup had apparently caught his eye since she's a strong woman. Mercedes recalled how she brought the pig into Zach Shallcross' season. Mercedes said she was in the back of Zach's season but was ready to put herself out there and find a manly man.

Sean McLaughlin reminded viewers how he looks like a Ken doll, and he said he wanted to meet Jess, whom he figured is a sweetheart. Sean also predicted they'd bond over their shared love of Taylor Swift. Jess hoped to have a beautiful love story in Paradise.

Will Urena from Michelle Young's The Bachelorette season joked about how time was running out and so he needed to find love quick. He envisioned himself getting down on one knee at the end of the process, potentially to Kylee, Olivia Lewis, or Brooklyn Willie.

Brooklyn, a very outspoken bachelorette, boasted about how she was going to rope herself a man. She wasn't excited to see Kat, who apparently has a tendency to complain.

Kat was dreading the sand, humidity and bugs, but she said she just wanted to find her person and thought Blake Moynes was really cute.

Blake confessed his split from Katie Thurston really hurt and he could hopefully fall in love with someone in Paradise, a person who would be able to mesh with his unconventional life working in animal conservation.

Jesse then opened the Paradise beach, and Rachel arrived first. She was only the second Bachelorette to look for love on Paradise.

"I think the third time is the charm!" Rachel said.

Aaron B. showed up next with a newfound sense of confidence. He felt more lighthearted given the environment had less pressure.

Rachel thought Aaron B. was handsome, and he thought she looked amazing.

"If Paradise were to start any other way, I'd be disappointed," Aaron B. noted.

Brooklyn stepped foot on the beach next, and she was followed by Cat Wong and Sean.

When Sean took his shirt off, Rachel snuck a peek at his abs and hoped to chat with him later.

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Will walked into Paradise next, and on his heels was Kylee, who told Jesse that she'd accept a marriage proposal from Aven if he popped the question.

Aaron B. thought Kylee was gorgeous and a ball of sunshine. Once they started talking, he called her "smoking hot" and couldn't wait to get to know her better. Will also spoke to Kylee and seemed smitten with her beauty.

Kylee thought Will was "so cute and nice," and she told him how she's very family oriented.

Brayden then joined the Paradise cast wearing a hat, big earrings and a bright yellow and blue paisley kimono. Sean hadn't been looking forward to seeing Brayden, who had his on eye in Kylee. Aaron B. and Brayden didn't get along on Charity's season of The Bachelorette, and the they were about to fight for the same girl again.

Brayden pulled Kylee aside for a conversation once he arrived, and Aaron B. was immediately pissed off. Aaron B. had no respect for Brayden's character, especially since he walked right by the other guys and didn't acknowledge them.

"I don't like drama. I'm not good with drama, confrontation and all of those things," Kylee told Brayden.

Brayden told the cameras that he didn't want to get wrapped up in drama again; he was just trying to vibe with the women, one after the next.

"I'm always looking for that next best option," Brayden said.

Eliza Isichei entered Paradise next, and she had no intention of getting involved in a love triangle again. Sean found Eliza captivating, and then Greer Blitzer walked in. Sean considered Greer "stunning," and then he said Mercedes brought a great energy to the cast.

Aaron Schwartzman came down next, and Sean said the "vibes were immaculate."

Peter Cappio then arrived, followed by Kat. Brooklyn wasn't too happy to see her former The Bachelor rival.

Eliza and Aaron B. talked about how they were corn on the show for the "gushy" stuff, and Aaron B. thought she was cute and wanted to explore that early connection further.

Samantha "Sam" Jeffries from Clayton Echard's season then arrived. She quit his season before the first Rose Ceremony. Sam got a nervous rash from the pressure or anxiety of it all.

Olivia entered Paradise next, and Will thought she was "hot." He said she smelled like a fresh garden. Olivia thought Will was very attractive in turn.

Will said he liked a woman who takes care of herself and gets her toes done, and then Olivia asked if he wanted to suck her toes. The pair dipped their feet in the ocean, and then Will picked her up like a princess.

Will asked Olivia to kiss him before he'd suck her toes, and he went in for it. Will said she was having a blast and Paradise was delivering.

Jess then arrived, and she was the No. 1 girl on Sean's list. Sean thought she looked stunning, and he attempted to bond with her over being Swifties. Jess thought Sean had gorgeous blue eyes, but she still wanted to explore other options.

Blake walked into Paradise next, and the girls agreed he looked hot and had a great body. Jess thought he was very good looking and that every woman was going to want to talk to him.

Rachel joked about how she could probably suck a toe since she's had other things in her mouth before.

"Why would a toe be any different?" Rachel joked.

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Jesse then addressed the whole cast and explained how many happy couples had formed in Paradise. He said true love and marriage could happen for all of them.

Jesse informed the cast of seven men and 11 women that the men would be handing out the roses -- which Blake was thankful for -- and so four women would be leaving Paradise at the end of the week.

Brayden said he had someone on his mind whom he could probably spend the rest of Paradise with, but he wouldn't tell the guys who. Brayden shared with the cameras it was Kylee, but Kylee said Brayden would need to lose the earrings.

Kylee and Olivia both talked to the other girls about how they liked Will, and Kylee was upset to hear Olivia had already kissed him. Kylee wondered if she was doing something wrong, and she told Will that he had ripped her heart out of her chest. Kylee also said she didn't want his sloppy seconds.

Will had found himself in a love triangle on Day 1.

A Date Card then arrived for Kylee, and she didn't know whom to ask. While she wanted to go on a date with Will, he wasn't a sure thing. The camera therefore flashed to Brayden as another option.

Will was really hoping Kylee would choose him for the date, but Brayden -- who was wearing Jess' body glitter -- was as well.

Kylee's Top 3 were Brayden, Blake and Will, and she ultimately selected Will. Olivia then said she was feeling weird vibes with Will.

"I feel annoyed. Will macked on me... but Will said yes. There is confusion," Olivia lamented. "At this point, I see respect is off the table. That's fine. If that's how you want to play that, that's how you want to play that. But just know, honey, I can stoop! Oh, it's game on."

That night, Wells Adams got behind the bar and introduced himself to the newbies in the cast.

Olivia was shown venting to Peter, Kat, Greer, and Eliza about how she felt disrespected by both Will and Kylee. She had told Kylee that she liked and kissed Will, and she thought Will should've pulled her aside for a chat before immediately accepting Kylee's date invitation.

Kylee and Will then took off on their date, and Olivia was left feeling some kind of way. Olivia said while she didn't necessarily want the pair's date to crash and burn, she thought they had handled the situation like "trash."

Meanwhile, Will's mind was only on Kylee, and he planned to dive in head first.

Once the couple arrived at dinner, which was a romantic table and chairs for two placed in water, Will fell in and got soaked! Kylee thanked Will for trying to pull her chair out, and she was a good sport about it and asked him not to be embarrassed.

"It can't get any worse than what just happened," Will said with a smile. "I have PTSD with water."

Will was referring to how his group-date winning jacket had been thrown into the pool on Michelle's The Bachelorette season.

But the date turned out to be a success. Kylee said she didn't want to be involved in any drama with Olivia, and Will assured her that their conversations and connection was real.

Will said he felt honored to be with Kylee and that he felt "the strongest" towards her. He explained how he wanted a marriage like what his parents have had for the past 35 years, and he and Kylee agreed that they wanted the real deal.

Kylee said she had definitely made the right decision in taking Will out on a date.

"He's everything I could ask for in a guy, so I feel giddy, which is good!" Kylee gushed.

"I haven't felt like this in a while, and it feels good to feel those butterflies," Will told Kylee, before sharing with the cameras how he was "definitely falling" for her fast.

Will and Kylee kissed at the end of their dinner, and he said it felt much different than his prior kiss with Olivia. Will was convinced he was on the right path in Paradise.

"I pictured myself enjoying my first date with Aven," Kylee said in a confessional. "But right now, no one else compares to Will. I do have the butterflies with him. He's so handsome, genuine and kind. He literally checks every single box I have."

Back on the beach, Brayden said he just wanted to feel "chosen" by somebody. Brayden could tell that Kylee "felt something more with Will," and he said it felt like "a gut punch" a little bit.

Brayden stayed open to exploring all of his options in Paradise, and that started with the "quirky" and "goofy" Kat. The pair walked up to a daybed on the beach and talked about their favorite colors and how Kat actually loved Brayden's long earrings.

"Are you going to jump into the ocean with me at some point?" Brayden asked flirtatiously.

"No," Kat replied. "If you do that, it's over. I would be so mad."

"You're smiling at the thought of it though!" Brayden countered.

"No, I'm smiling at the thought of being mad," Kat responded.

Kat said she was taken by surprise by Brayden because he was actually really sweet, "like a Golden Retriever."

After a silly exchange, Kat and Brayden kissed, and Brayden gushed about how she was a great kisser. Brayden even told the cameras, "She's definitely a girl I could see something potentially being there with. She's someone I could see myself spending my life with."

Rachel then revealed how she had her eye on Sean, who seemed a little more interested in Kat. However, the pair went off for a conversation, and Sean said he felt comfortable with her and could probably talk to her for hours.

Rachel agreed they had an "easy" connection, and their chat concluded with a makeout session.

Rachel shared how she was "definitely surprised" by the kiss and she never thought she'd be kissing someone on the first day of Paradise.

There were already couples forming, according to Rachel: Blake and Jess, Aaron S. and Sam, Kat and Brayden, and Aaron B. and Mercedes. Footage showed nearly all the couples making out at some point, and Aaron B. told Mercedes that she has nice lips.

The next morning, Aaron S. bragged about how he'd probably end up marrying Sam.

Brooklyn, meanwhile, was prepared to make a big move in order to get a rose.

And Rachel said she felt like her relationship with Sean, a Ken doll with a chiseled chin, could actually work out for her. She knew, however, that things could go South very quickly in Paradise.

For Olivia's part, she was still venting about how Kylee and Will both should've given her a heads-up before their date. Olivia thought they had gone about things in a "grimy" manner and that Kylee was "playing dumb" about the connection she had made with Will early on.

But Kylee was in her own world and totally smitten with Will, telling the cameras, "Justin Bieber could walk down those steps and I'd be like, 'No, Will is my guy.'"

Will finally pulled Olivia aside for a conversation, and Rachel could tell it was going to be heated.

Olivia repeated to Will multiple times how she was "fine," but she clearly wasn't.

Olivia told Will that he was not being respectful; he was just trying to clean up the disrespect he had already dished out.

Will apologized to Olivia for disrespecting her, but he also pointed out how it was only Day 1 and they owed it to themselves to explore their options.

"I don't think that just because I gave you a kiss, I owe you an explanation on Day 1. If it was a little bit further or deeper in the process and we had a stronger connection, I could see why I'd owe you an explanation right then and there," Will admitted.

Will explained how his heart was leading him towards Kylee, and Olivia's blood was boiling.

Will said he didn't want to mislead Olivia, but then she snapped at him for having grabbed her face and kissed her.

"If you're talking to me about [sucking] toes, I don't think that a kiss was too far off!" Will complained. "You literally went into the ocean to wash off your toes to try to get me to suck your toes."

Olivia argued the toes topic was just a playful and fun conversation, and she thought Will was feeling guilty and therefore making excuses.

Will said "sorry" one more time, and Olivia just responded in a cold manner, "Cool."

Olivia vented to Sam about how Kylee was "a snake" and that Kylee had entered Paradise to meet Aven -- not Will. Olivia decided not to share that piece of information with Will.

"Kylee is going to ride that [Will] wave until Aven comes, because that's who she wants," Olivia told the cameras. "And then Will is going to be pushed to the wayside. And guess who won't feel bad for you, Will? Me! Honey, she [does] not want you. You are a placeholder and an easy rose!"

But Will was totally unbothered by Olivia's anger. He was shown telling Kylee how much he liked her and wanted to spend all of his time with her, and Kylee, in turn, said she felt really good.

Will acknowledged how he was falling for Kylee really fast and couldn't stop thinking about her.

"You can't wipe this smile off my face. There is nothing you could do to ruin my day!" Will boasted.

But then Aven Jones from Rachel and Gabby Windey's The Bachelorette season began walking down the stairs with a Date Card in hand. Once Olivia saw him, she planned to go after him and steal him from Kylee as a form of revenge.

Bachelor in Paradise's premiere episode ended with a cliffhanger.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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