'Bachelor in Paradise's Robby Hayes: This scandal could've been avoided had cast members appeared for right reasons

Bachelor in Paradise production is back on, and Robby Hayes is sharing his reaction.


"It was surprising," Robby, who was part of the original Season 4 cast, told Entertainment Tonight through a Facebook Live interview after Warner Bros. announced previous allegations of "misconduct" were unfounded. "I didn't think there was a chance that it would come back."

Robby said he needs to hear from an actual producer that filming is going to commence again, as the whole situation has been "crazy."

"I thought with everything that went on, the morality of it, the name of it might've been tainted a little bit. Warner Bros. released a pretty stern statement and all the statements they release are stern. I'm excited to see what happens," Robby said.

When Warner Bros. initially shut down production on the ABC reality dating series due to alleged "misconduct" regarding an alleged sexual encounter between DeMario Jackson and Corinne Olympios, Robby said there was a lot going through his mind.


"I wasn't sure if they were going to bring Paradise back, replace Paradise with a different more domestic type show, or just have nothing," he explained to ET.

"I knew that they had the airtime already purchased over the summer for those time slots on Monday and Tuesday nights. I didn't know if they'd do re-runs or try to shoot inside the country and not in Mexico, try to give it a different name or go back to Bachelor Pad. I don't know."

Robby said the entire cast was "in the dark" about what happened although they were all sent home within the first week of filming Season 4.

"It's hard because everyone that you know is asking you about it," Robby confessed. "They all want to know what's going on. 'Why are you back so early?' Well, I don't really know. I have nothing to tell you. We were kept in the dark."

"We met with lawyers just like we do every time," he continued. "We were told it could pick back up. There's just a bunch of stuff on the legal side that they have to take care of first and that they are doing it for our safety, for our concern, because the cast is their primary concern."


Robby conducted this interview about a half hour after Warner Bros. announced Bachelor in Paradise would resume filming and an ABC spokesperson confirmed the season will still premiere in Summer 2017.

Robby said he has yet to receive a call from ABC about how to move forward, if he even chooses to appear on the show again.

"I have to see," Robby said of his potential Bachelor in Paradise return. "I don't know the timeline. I had scheduled some things now that I'm back in the States. Some stuff with LeisureLetics among other things. But if the call comes, we'll find out."

LeisureLetics is Robby's project with Chase McNary. The two guys became best friends after competing for JoJo Fletcher's heart on The Bachelorette's twelfth season last year. Robby revealed they have a trade show to promote their new line in Las Vegas this upcoming weekend pending Bachelor in Paradise news.

Production on Bachelor in Paradise was halted earlier this month after a producer filed a complaint with Warner Bros. over alleged sexual activity that made her "uncomfortable" between DeMario and Corinne that occurred in a public pool at a Mexican resort, according to prior reports.


An investigation was launched because the producer was allegedly concerned DeMario was taking advantage of Corinne since she appeared too drunk to provide the bachelor with proper consent for their aggressive PDA, which sources claim included foreplay and oral sex.

Corinne claimed in a June 14 statement she was "a victim" in the situation, but DeMario argued his character has been "assassinated with false claims and malicious accusations."

"I did not see what happened," Robby told ET. "Let's leave it at that."

Robby suggested that Corinne appearing on Bachelor in Paradise for the wrong reasons contributed to this whole scandal, as recent reports claim she had a boyfriend back home during filming and was ashamed of her actions when she hooked up with DeMario. (Corinne is apparently still dating her boyfriend).

"If people avoided that and were on the show for the right reasons, we wouldn't be in this situation we're in right now," Robby said.


"I don't think there was any maliciousness behind what she was doing. I think she just put herself in a situation that she shouldn't have been in. Was she going through the appropriate channels? Were they correct or not? I don't know. I'm in the dark, too. I don't know if she brought in legal or production brought in legal. They put everything on hold."

Robby said he's "not going to rule out" a possible return to Paradise if both Corinne and DeMario come back as well; however, he admitted, "I don't think they should [return]."

As part of Warner Bros.'s statement on Tuesday announcing Bachelor in Paradise's continuation, the company said, "We plan to implement certain changes to the show's policies and procedures to enhance and further ensure the safety and security of all participants."

Robby doesn't seem to think the production company "will change much" though. He apparently believes the producer who initially filed the complaint was a little over-sensitive or just not used to what life in Paradise typically entails.

"I think this is kind of an outside issue from that third party," Robby told ET.


"Like I said, we are in the dark. We don't know who that is that stirred something up because she didn't like what she saw. But I don't think it's much different than what we saw in the last season of Bachelor in Paradise. There were some trainwrecks there as well."






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski