HOLLYWOOD—Season three of “Bachelor in Paradise”—a spin-off of ABC’s reality hit, “The Bachelor”—aired Tuesday welcoming former “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” cast members. This series follows a group of former fan-favorites who are invited to Sayulita, a small town on the coast of Vallarta-Nayarit, Mexico, to mingle, share exotic dates and explore new romantic options. In other words, its another shot at love.
The contestants arrived one by one and were each welcomed by host, Chris Harrison; episode one presented an eccentric medley of seven bachelors:
- Jared Haibon, 27 – Restaurant Manager from Warwick, RI and season 11 of “The Bachelorette” (Kaitlyn)
- Chad Johnson, 28 – Luxury real estate agent from Tulsa, OK and season 12 of “The Bachelorette” (JoJo)
- Daniel Maguire, 31 – Canadian from Vancouver, BC and season 12 of “The Bachelorette” (JoJo)
- Evan Bass, 33 – Erectile Dysfunction Specialist from Nashville, TN and season 12 of “The Bachelorette” (JoJo).
- Grant Kemp, 28 – Firefighter from San Francisco, CA and season 12 of “The Bachelorette” (JoJo).
- Nick Viall, 35 – Two-time runner-up and Account Executive from Chicago, IL and seasons 10 and 11 of “The Bachelorette” (Andi and Kaitlyn).
- Vinny Ventiera, 28 – Barber from Delray Beach, FL and season 12 of “The Bachelorette” (JoJo).
And eight bachelorettes:
- Emily Ferguson, 23 – Package-deal twin from Las Vegas, NV and season 20 of “The Bachelor” (Ben).
- Haley Ferguson, 23 – Package-deal twin from Las Vegas, NV and season 20 of “The Bachelor” (Ben).
- Lace Morris, 25 – Real Estate Agent from Denver, CO and season 20 of “The Bachelor” (Ben).
- Amanda Stanton, 26 – Esthetician from Rancho Santa Margarita, CA and season 20 of “The Bachelor” (Ben).
- Jubilee Sharpe, 25 – War Veteran from Ft. Lauderdale, FL and season 20 of “The Bachelor” (Ben).
- Sarah Herron, 29 – Advertising Executive from Los Angeles, CA and season 17 of “The Bachelor” (Sean).
- Carly Waddell, 28 – Singer/Songwriter from Arlington, TX and season 19 of “The Bachelor” (Chris).
- Isabell “Izzy” Goodkind, 25 – Graphic Designer from Branford, CT and season 20 of “The Bachelor” (Ben).
The 15 hopefuls get acquainted at their first informal beachside cocktail party when Chris Harrison interrupts and drops the first bomb of the season: for the first elimination, each bachelor will hand out a rose and one bachelorette will be going home.
Since the bachelors are exempt from the first round of elimination, the bachelorettes get the first date card – it invites Jubilee and a bachelor of her choosing to share the first date of the season. She chooses Jared and he says yes!
The cast spends the evening exploring their new home and celebrating the start of the season with drinks and inevitably, romance; Vinny—a Brooklyn-born mama’s boy—and Izzy—a dark-hair, light-eyed sweetheart—find themselves sharing their first kiss amid the waves. Meanwhile, Chad and Lace hookup and it is predictably disastrous; the two cliqued at first – but it was only a matter of time until Chad—well, was Chad.
Chad and Lace share laughs and tipsy banter in the hot-tub for most of the night; that is until Chad gets completely obliterated and starts spewing profanities at her – inevitably, killing the moment. They have an incredibly drunken and dramatic falling out – so Chad keeps drinking; then, things actually start to get scary.
Chad’s actions continue to escalate and he storms the cocktail party in a drunken rampage, making everyone in Paradise increasingly aggravated and uncomfortable. Carly tells the cameras, “Every time Chad’s around, it just makes me nervous, because that’s actually really scary, abusive and weird behavior. That shouldn’t be happening.” Chad’s continued aggression and harassment causes everyone to disperse. He stumbles off and passes out along the beach.
The next morning, the cast mingles near the pool to kick off what will hopefully be a better day, but when Chad tries to engage, there is visible tension. Then, Chris Harrison makes an unexpected appearance; he calls everyone up to the pavilion and it’s immediately apparent what the conversation is going to be about: Chad.
Chris Harrison sparks the discussion by opening the floor to Chad – he asks for his take on what happened last night and Chad tells him, “I’m probably not happy about the fact that I called a few people out – in general, again upon the fact some people want to present this image: ‘I’m such a good person.’” Then, Chris Harrison opens the floor to everyone else; Sarah tells him, “I think you were incredibly disrespectful last night and said really horrible things to Lace, about women and to me.”
Then, Chris Harrison takes some surprising measures; he tells Chad, “This was a second chance for everyone to come in here and find love.” He adds, “This was also a second chance for you.” Chad persists to justify his actions, but Chris Harrison proceeds to lecture. “So on behalf of everybody, I am sorry. I thought that this could work out – it didn’t; I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Chad, in disbelief, argues wildly – he says, “You all are really going to pretend like you’re such good people – I make a couple jokes and now you’re all upset?” Still, Chris Harrison is stern in his decision; they walk off camera together and Chad erupts, refusing to leave the set.
The episode ends there, but next week’s preview confirms that this is far from the end of Chad. “Bachelor In Paradise” will air next week on ABC both Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m.