No one understands "Bachelor in Paradise" better than former cast member Krystal Nielson, who met her now-husband, Chris Randone, during production of the show last summer. Their nuptials will be televised on a future episode of "Bachelor in Paradise" this year. Every Wednesday, Nielson will recap "Bachelor in Paradise" for "Good Morning America," weighing in on her favorite couples and all the jaw-dropping drama.
Her first entry is below.
Common wisdom tells us that keeping secrets can take a terrible toll and that revealing information can be a step towards recovery. The bigger the secret, the bigger the potential conflict. A phrase that describes every ounce of "Bachelor in Paradise" at the moment.
Season six opens with a bang … and I mean that literally.
Our highly-anticipated Blake finally makes his way down to the white beaches of Playa Escondida to find a swarm of beautiful and single women going gaga for the "King of Paradise."
Hannah G shared that she, along with many fans in Bachelor Nation, I’m sure, had been waiting months to explore a relationship with Blake. Between the soft gazes, shoulder rubs and giggles, love is in the air!
Despite the obvious lightning connection between them, after receiving the first date card of Paradise, Blake explores his relationship with the lovely Tayshia in which he shared, “it only takes one person to choose you. So if you can love the wrong person, how much will you be able to love the right person?"
(What to expect from this season of 'Bachelor in Paradise')Tayshia swoons over Blake and their relationship seems to be off to a solid start. Meanwhile, back in Paradise, a secret is weighing heavily on Caelynn and it’s only a matter of time before it comes out. Caelynn confides to the house bartender Wells that it deeply hurt her after Blake called their hookup a “mistake."
"The next morning, I was laying in bed with him he started talking about how hot Tayshia was and then was texting Hannah G," she said. But the salt to the wound came the week before when Blake called Caelynn and revealed that during their Stagecoach rendezvous, he had hooked up with Kristina the night before.
"That’s the worst morning-after story ever," Wells said. And we couldn’t agree more.
Caelynn then shares that Blake asked her to keep their relationship private going into Paradise but this leaves her feeling not good enough and unworthy of his love. To make matters worse, he ignores her the entire first day. The pressure feels unbearable for Caelynn and just as she lets out this big secret, down walks our newest friend to join Paradise this summer: the one and only, Kristina.
Now, I’ve freaked out when I ran into my ex-boyfriend at the grocery store for 4.2 seconds, so I can only imagine how fast Blake’s adrenals kicked on when Kristina walked in.
She takes Blake on a "friendly and fun date" only to confront him about how disrespected she felt after he confessed about hooking up with Caelynn.
And here is THE question of the episode … who is in the wrong?
Blake confessed to BOTH girls the details of that weekend prior to filming, which I have to give him kudos for because most men would not.
While I can understand why both Caelynn and Kristina feel hurt, all three of them were single and consenting adults that were not in an exclusive relationship. Is it dirty? Yes. Is it classy? Absolutely not. But is the risk of focusing on a past relationship that didn’t work out worth jeopardizing the reward of finding a healthy relationship?
Dylan is the reason I love "Bachelor in Paradise." This guy said maybe 100 words during his time on "The Bachelorette," but in just the first two episodes we see how sweet, and um, TOTALLY adorable he is. Dylan shares that he only came to Paradise for Hannah G and jumps at his opportunity for alone time with her as soon as Blake and Tayshia head out on their date.
While I am just LIVING for this relationship, in my experience, women go for men who play a little hard-to-get, especially when they have so many viable options. While Dylan vocalized he’s committed and has “eyes for only Hannah,” I feel that to lock it down, Dylan needs to have a moment to puff out his chest and show that strong can be just as sweet.
The next episode of "Bachelor in Paradise" airs Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.