Bachelor in Paradise couple Brendan Morais and Pieper James reunited on Season 7 and it appears their romance is just starting to heat up, so what happens next for this couple? Do Brendan and Pieper get engaged on the show and are they still together now?
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[Bachelor in Paradise Spoiler Warning: This report reveals how Brendan and Pieper's journey on Bachelor in Paradise's seventh season ended and the current status of their relationship now.]
Earlier in the Bachelor in Paradise season, a rumor circulated that Brendan had been dating Pieper before the show began filming. Natasha therefore confronted her love interest, Brendan, who explained that he and Pieper had a "super casual" relationship for a month in which they saw each other "several" times.RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
Bachelor in Paradise's Monday, September 6 episode showed Pieper arriving to the Paradise resort in Mexico, and with a Date Card in hand, she immediately asked Brendan out.
Brendan explained to Pieper on their dinner date how he had to do "certain things" in order to navigate Bachelor in Paradise and ensure he'd still be around for Pieper's entrance, and Pieper -- apparently understanding that Natasha was just her placeholder and had been used for a rose -- thanked Brendan for "playing the game."
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At the end of Brendan and Pieper's date, Pieper called the bachelor her "boyfriend," and the pair returned to the beach totally smitten with each other. They didn't even hide their affection from Natasha, who felt completely betrayed.
When Natasha searched for answers, Pieper shared how she and Brendan had actually dated for more than two months before Bachelor in Paradise and hung out about 10 times. Pieper claimed they were pretty much exclusive but chose not to put a label on their relationship at the time.
Natasha called Brendan "a liar" and a clout-chaser, and she accused him of manipulating her.
When speaking to Brendan afterwards, however, Brendan told Natasha that he only viewed their relationship as a friendship and she apparently had "selective hearing" when they previously discussed their connection and potential.
Brendan alleged that he learned of his "strong feelings" for Pieper during their date the previous night, but Natasha -- and seemingly everyone else on the beach -- was convinced Brendan's romance with Pieper was serious and he had downplayed the significance of it during his time on the beach.
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"I asked him, 'Would you go on a date with someone else now that she's here?' [And Brendan said], 'Probably not.' So again, why are you here?" Natasha complained in a confessional.
"I think his plan was to just make it through until Pieper came and then they would continue to build their connection together here -- on ABC."
Natasha said she felt "played" and "swindled" by "a con artist" and lamented to the cameras, "I feel like a casualty in [Brendan]'s convoluted plan."
Brendan, however, appeared to believe that Natasha had no other "prospects" in Paradise and he had actually done her a favor by giving her his rose, which allowed her to stay on the show longer.
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Brendan and Pieper were later shown discussing Pieper's social-media influencer status, as she said she had over 70,000 followers prior to leaving for Paradise.
When discussing whether Brendan might come across like a jerk on the show, Brendan -- attempting to cover his microphone -- admitted to "incriminating" himself and being "screwed" since he essentially admitted to stringing Natasha along.
"I think you did the heavylifting for me so I could just swoop in," Pieper told Brendan.
"I paved the way," Brendan confirmed.
In a preview of the next Bachelor in Paradise episode airing Tuesday night, September 7 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC, Joe Amabile complains of Pieper and Brendan, "They actually think they outsmarted everyone."
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Brendan and Pieper are accused of enjoying "a pre-paid vacation," before Riley Christian appears to yell at the couple to "go!"
So did Brendan and Pieper choose to stay on the show despite all of the backlash?
Given Brendan and Pieper viewed themselves as boyfriend and girlfriend at this point in the show, did they stay together and get engaged during the Season 6 finale or did they break up?
And what's the status of Brendan and Pieper's relationship now?
Brendan and Pieper continued dating in Paradise
According to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone, Brendan and Pieper attempted to ignore their fellow cast members and continued to date each other exclusively in Mexico.However, Carbone reported on September 7 that the couple will leave the show soon.
Brendan reportedly continued to take heat for lying to Natasha and playing her. Given Brendan and Pieper dated before Bachelor in Paradise, their co-stars questioned why they ever came on the show to begin with and why they'd stick around.
Carbon therefore reported that Brendan and Pieper chose to leave the show to avoid more drama.
"They started getting called out for it by others, so they just bounced," Carbone wrote in his blog, adding that Brendan and Pieper left the show as a dating couple.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
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After the show wrapped filming earlier this summer, Brendan and Pieper were spotted out in public together on more than one occasion.
The pair apparently spent Fourth of July weekend together in the Boston area, where Brendan lives.
And according to Carbone, Brendan and the Oregon native are still together now!
Carbone reported that Pieper and Brendan don't care how they're coming across on television or what other people, including Bachelor Nation, think about them.
"Judging by the way they're coming across on their IG after last night, they don't seem to give a sh-t," Carbone wrote in a September 7 blog post.
Brendan, for example, posted a picture of himself in a pool and joked in the caption, "Here for the wrong reasons," and Pieper posted a TikTok video on her Instagram Stories in which she was playfully and confidently lip-syncing, "All the rumors are true," as the song "Rumors" by Lizzo played.
Carbone claims Brendan and Pieper have seen each other numerous times since filming the show.
"They were together yesterday in Boston," Carbone wrote on September 7.
"Those pics on Pieper's IG yesterday were taken by Brendan. Like, these two have done nothing to hide the fact they've been together since the second they left Mexico."
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