Blake, Caelynn, Kristina, Tayshia, Hannah… also a minor performance by Caitlin. Unofficially sponsored by the Swing Dance.
After (in Chris Harrison voice) the most dramatic season of Bachelor in Paradise ever, it was pretty expected for the finale to stir up some drama as well. After all, there were *multiple* loose ends to be tied, conversations to be revisited, and tears to be shed. Because Stagecoach didn’t already get enough free advertisement from the entire season, right?
One of the biggest shocks of the season was fan favorite Blake Horstmann and his—how do I put this delicately—pre-season advantages to have roses lined up. The drama began when it was disclosed that Blake and Caelynn Miller Keyes had been in a relationship-of-sorts pre-show.
The exact details and seriousness of the relationship are unknown, as each side has a different story, but it’s confirmed that the duo were in talks for months and hooked up at Stagecoach. But Blake also hooked up with Kristina Schulman, who he also may or may not have dated pre-BIP, at the festival.
To make things worse, Blake flew out to Birmingham, AL to pursue his interest in Hannah Godwin before heading to Mexico. Though nothing physical took place, an epic love-square was already set to erupt. And then, Blake took Tayshia Adams on his date week one of the show. So, we have a lovely pentagon.
While much of it was addressed during the season and cleared up relatively well during on the beach, one such event that occurred during the season aired was guaranteed to be a topic of conversation. In an attempt to clear his name, Blake had posted screen recordings of text conversations between him and Caelynn, trying to prove that she wasn’t the victim in his love-pentagon.
The attempts backfired incredibly, and America’s sweetheart was in the hot seat with Chris Harrison. He was able to clear things up with Kristina, Hannah, and Tayshia (Hannah is now engaged and Tayshia is in a serious relationship) but his apology to Caelynn seemed forced at best, and the rest of the cast was vocal in his wrongdoings.
Lucky for Caelynn, she left the show early with now-boyfriend Dean Unglert for #vanlife. During the emotional conversation between Caelynn and Blake, Dean is seen rubbing her shoulders and encouraging her to speak her truth, and later moves seats to be seated next to her for the remainder of the night.
As for Blake, he is still trying to paint Caelynn as the bad guy, accusing her of multiple lies, and of dating him while considering being the Bachelorette. None of the rumors are confirmed, but for the sake of everyone’s happiness, let’s hope the two can leave the drama in the past.