'Bachelor in Paradise' sees Michelle Kujawa quit and the bachelors choose to eliminate Daniella McBride

Bachelor in Paradise saw one bachelorette quit and eliminated another during Monday night's premiere broadcast of the new ABC reality dating series.


Michelle Kujawa, a 30-year-old from Anaheim, CA, who appeared on Jake Pavelka's season of The Bachelor and Bachelor Pad 1, opted to leave the show right before the initial Rose Ceremony began because she hadn't established any connections with the guys in the house.  

When asked whether she thinks she'll find love following her ouster, Michelle K. said, "It'll happen. Maybe it's already happened. I don't know."

In addition, Daniella McBride, a 26-year-old from Los Angeles, CA, who appeared on Sean Lowe's The Bachelor edition, was eliminated from the series after none of the six bachelors in the house offered her a rose, which would've ensured her a spot in the house for another week.

"I'm kind of annoyed, like, I don't even understand what happened. Ben told me that I was completely safe tonight and I had nothing to worry about and that all the guys in the house wanted me to stay longer. He clearly lied to me, so I'm just a little bit shocked. That's all," Daniella said after her elimination. 


Bachelor in Paradise's debut episode began with 13 former The Bachelor and The Bachelorette cast members, seven women and six men, entering the mansion on the beach in Tulum, Mexico.  

Daniella, Marcus Grodd, Marquel Martin, Clare Crawley, Sarah Herron, Graham Bunn, Lacy Faddoul, Ben Scott, Michelle K., Robert Graham, Dylan Petitt, Elise Mosca, and AshLee Frazier arrived one by one.

Sarah thought Marcus was very attractive with his piercing blue eyes. Clare immediately took a liking to Graham, saying she liked how he was older. Graham, however, found Lacy "strikingly gorgeous" as did Marcus and Robert. Clare could tell most of the guys had an interest in Lacy.

Once Ben joined the group, everyone was quiet and assumed he was going to be a villain in the house. Marcus assumed Ben was going to be crazy and on the show for the wrong reasons.

Meanwhile, Elise believed it was "love at first sight" with Dylan. He was equally as smitten with her right off the bat.


Ashley also admitted she only came on Bachelor in Paradise to meet Graham.

Once the group gathered together to hear what show host Chris Harrison had to say, they were asked to confirm whether everyone was single. Strangely enough, Michelle K. avoided the question and hinted that she wasn't. Everyone was caught off-guard by Michelle K.'s reaction.

Chris Harrison then explained one of the seven women would be going home at the end of the week. They learned that each of the six men would be able to hand out one rose to a bachelorette whom he'd like to get to know better or date. The girls were surprised at how quickly one of them must go home.

Lacy, who got eliminated on Night 1 of Juan Pablo Galavis' season, didn't want that to happen again. Therefore, she took a very aggressive approach and straddled Robert in the ocean, only to later take a late-night swim with Marcus, who admitted he still wasn't completely over Andi Dorfman.

Sarah was disappointed because Marcus was the only guy she was attracted to. She took a shot at Lacy by telling the cameras skinny-dipping with a guy is not the key to building a solid foundation for a relationship. Robert was also shocked to see Lacy's behavior, as he thought he had hit it off with her.


A jealous Robert then decided to take matters into his own hands. He asked Lacy about her background and walked away from the conversation thinking she was a "smart, beautiful, independent, kind, good girl."

Meanwhile, AshLee talked to Robert and quickly came to the realization they were "just meant to be." She wanted to kiss him and "be all up on him," but at the same time, she didn't want to come across "overbearing." However, AshLee failed at that attempt, as Daniella thought Ashlee was really intense and would marry Graham if she could after spending only a few hours with him. 

The first date card then arrived and it belonged to Clare. She asked Graham out on the date and he accepted her invitation, which really upset AshLee, who assumed Graham would've turned down the date to be with her. AshLee walked away pissed off and called Clare "a slut" behind her back, saying Clare would definitely make a move on Graham since she had slept with Juan Pablo.

After adding that Clare "wasn't even pretty," AshLee complained how Graham couldn't be loyal to her for 24 hours. She was so mad at him and refused to fight with girls over Graham. Sarah agreed with Daniella on the fact Ashlee was "crazy."

Clare immediately noticed how upset AshLee was, so after crying to a raccoon -- yes, a racoon -- about getting involved in drama already, she took back her invitation to Graham and asked Robert out instead. Clare insisted she had no idea how much AshLee liked Graham. AshLee told the cameras she should've felt guilty about it, but at the same time, she was looking to find true love. 


For Clare's date, she and Robert checked out local ruins. The pair had hung out in groups before yet never explored a possible romantic connection. However, after spending the day together, Clare felt chemistry with him and loved the fact he laughed at all her jokes.

Back at the mansion, Graham learned how frustrated AshLee was with him, and he tried to talk to her. AshLee refused to speak to him, which worried Graham because she couldn't communicate well and work things out with him. It was also a red flag in Graham's mind considering a girl was already mad at him after only 18 hours of being together. Graham told the cameras his experience quickly changed "from paradise to paradise lost."

Afterward, Sarah received the next date card and asked Marcus to join her. Lacy had planned to try to date just Marcus because she thought he was so good-looking, but she settled on Robert since Marcus was leaving for the night.

On Sarah's date, she found herself intimidated by Marcus' good looks. The couple jumped into an "underground oasis" and Sarah found it exhilarating. Sarah also snagged a little kiss, which she said she was "stoked about."

Back at the mansion, Lacy cried to Robert about how the two men she had been interested in both went on dates with other women. They went for a walk on the beach, and Robert assured Lacy he didn't kiss Clare and was really interested in her. Lacy thought Robert was a "gentleman" and had really "stepped up to the plate."


In a big surprise, Michelle Money then walked through the door. As a result, all the girls realized two bachelorettes would be going home instead of just one. She immediately gave Graham a huge hug because the pair had history dating one another on Bachelor Pad. Michelle M. acknowledged the fact they still loved each other but things didn't work out, and she never really found out why.

Worried that Michelle M. and Graham were going to reunite, AshLee decided to apologized to Graham for being standoffish. She told the bachelor she had come on the show to meet him with her heart on her sleeve and ready for a fairy-tale ending. Graham told AshLee he didn't like how she had refused to talk to him but everything was fine. 

Michelle M. chose to take Marquel on her date. She thought he was handsome, fun and funny. In turn, Marquel thought Michelle M. was a whole different kind of beautiful. The couple went horseback riding on the beach and really hit it off. Their connection thrived and Michelle M. was excited about what was to come.

Back at the mansion, Marcus said he liked Sarah as a person and they shared a nice kiss yet his feelings were still very strong for Lacy. Marcus felt a chemistry with Lacy similar to what he had experienced with Andi on The Bachelorette. He was so attracted to her and "mesmerized" by her. Marcus said in a confessional that Lacy knocked his walls down even though he was afraid to get hurt again.

However, Lacy received the next date card and took Robert with her. Clare seemed fine with it, considering it was obvious to everyone that Lacy and Robert were basically becoming an item. She thought there was a good chance she'd be deprived of a rose.

Prior to the week's Rose Ceremony, Ben and Marcus were the "wild cards" when it came to handing out roses. Ben hadn't felt a "wow connection" with anyone, and Marcus was unsure how Lacy was feeling about Robert. Ben told the cameras he just planned to give his rose to someone whom he had fun with.


Daniella and Sarah were most paranoid about being rejected because they hadn't paired off with anybody.

At Bachelor in Paradise's first Rose Ceremony, Marquel was asked to hand out the first rose. However, before he had the chance, Michelle K. interrupted him and declared she was quitting the show because she hadn't felt a connection with anyone and didn't want to take away from any of the relationships that had been forming.

Everyone thought Michelle K.'s behavior was odd and attention-seeking, as she hadn't really done any work to get to know any of the guys. Chris Harrison asked Michelle K. if she was sure she wanted to leave since the game could change at any point, and she was certain of her decision.

Therefore, the six men had seven women to choose from, ultimately leaving one bachelorette roseless. In a twist, the bachelorettes could absolutely decline a man's rose.

Marquel opted to give his rose to Michelle M. Graham offered his rose to AshLee, which wasn't a surprise to anyone. Likewise, Dylan gave his rose to Elise, who admitted she was falling in love with Dylan already.

The ceremony's shocking moment was when Marcus decided to give his rose to Lacy, whom Robert had been expecting to pick. Robert felt it was a slap in the face and wished Lacy had been more upfront with him in regards to her feelings for Marcus.


Caught off-guard, Robert gave his rose to Clare. Clare was hopeful she could start a romance with guys who had yet to enter the house. Ben then gave his rose to Sarah. Daniella was therefore eliminated.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski