If you haven’t stayed caught up on the newest season of Bachelor in Paradise, you can check out our recap of the last episode here. Before we dive into this week’s drama, here’s a reminder of what eligible bachelor(ette)s are left in Costa Rica:
- Lexi Young gave her rose to Justin Glaze
- Zoe McGrady gave her rose to Brian Autz
- Kat Izzo gave her rose to Dale Moss
- Jess Edwards gave her rose to Spencer Conley
- Bailey Brown gave her rose to Jeremy Simon
- Alexe Goldin gave her rose to Jonathon Johnson
Day 4
On the morning of Day 4 in Paradise, everyone takes stock of their current relationships.
As expected, everything is sunny in Spencer and Jess’ Paradise. They’re both equally into each other and feeling confident in their relationships. But the mutual confidence in relationships pretty much ends there.
Brian and Zoe are on the rocks, each giving each other bad vibes. That informed most of the drama for the rest of the first half of the episode. Most other dramas were similar: A girl in a relationship feels secure, and then the guy starts showing interest in someone else in Paradise, so she gets upset, and they all have to pull each other aside for various chats throughout the day. Zoe is concerned that if he’s giving her mixed signals so soon into their relationship, what does it mean for their future? On the flip side, Brian feels like Zoe is becoming clingy and needy, and he still wants to stay open to see how other relationships play out.
Early in the day, two new women cruise onto the beach on jet skis.
The newest women to step on the beach are Parisa Shifteh and Alli Jo Hinkes, both of whom originally appeared on Grant Ellis’ season of The Bachelor.
Parisa shares that she is looking for “real love and rare critters.” She continues, “And honestly, men are just like critters. You watch them, you study their patterns, you wait for a sign of weakness, and then you strike. Iguanas? Check. Tree frogs? Check. At least two emotionally available men? We’re working on it.”
Alli Jo is a Jersey girl who reminds us a few times that she’s a Scorpio, “which means I’m loyal, stubborn, and not afraid to say what everyone else is thinking.”
Because Zoe is already feeling anxious about her relationship with Brian, the idea of new women entering the dating pool only adds to her stress. That’s not to mention that while Alli Jo and Zoe were together on The Bachelor, they had drama.
But Alli Jo isn’t who Zoe has to be worried about; Parisa immediately catches Brian’s eye.
Naturally, Alli Jo and Parisa are given the first two date cards of the episode, just as Justin, Dale, and Sam were last week. And of course, this upsets Zoe even more.
(A side note that if you’re not super interested in watching the season, the number one reason you should watch is that the producers and editors are very funny. For example, here, after Brian says he isn’t all in on Zoe, the producers cut to a scene in the last episode showing Brian saying that he’d choose Zoe.)
Parisa decides to pull Brian aside to start chatting (again, making Zoe upset) and they start to gel with each other.
On the theoretically less dramatic side of things, Alli Jo decides to chat with Dale, who is excited about her. Alli Jo shares with Dale how family-oriented she is, how much of a hard worker she is, and that she is a Scorpio. Of course, Kat is visibly upset about this.
And now it’s time for a chemistry test: A game called “Kiss and Don’t Tell.”
(Another side note: Because Spencer and Jess’ relationship is so stable, they don’t have much drama. Instead, they occasionally provide us with killer one-liners. Here, Spencer shares that he “failed” chemistry (we assume in high school?))
Each contestant must go through a “dating app” (aka an iPad with pictures of the other contestants). Through “swiping,” they can indicate if they are interested in kissing that person to see if there is any chemistry. If people mutually swipe on each other, they’ll have the opportunity to meet in the “kissing booth” without anyone else knowing (ideally). Wells shares, “The relationships that end up working are the ones no one sees coming.”
In Brian’s words, “It’s like the apps, but it’s happening right now.”
Some of the contestants weren’t very picky about who they “liked,” while others chose only a few people.
“Are they going to kiss and tell? Probably, cause they’re idiots. But they don’t have to! They have the opportunity to make out with everybody,” Wells says, in a confessional. “What are you doing? Make out with everybody!”
And of course, before anyone makes out with anyone else, the men take shots of Listerine and the girls take some breath mints.
First in the booth is Jonathon, who kisses Alexe, then Alli Jo, then Parisa, and Bailey. Then Zoe meets Brian in the booth and they share a passionate kiss. Though they both turn to leave after, Brian comes back in because he didn’t want Zoe to know that he matched with anyone besides her. He then goes on to kiss Parisa. Jess and Spencer meet for a sweet kiss, of which Spencer says, “I feel like I just had my first kiss in elementary school. It felt like we were in a movie. And I love a rom-com.”
Then Jeremy and Bailey meet in the kissing booth. After she leaves, he refreshes his breath because he swiped right on four girls. However, a producer comes in to say, “That’s it for the ladies. I can give you this, though,” holding up his fist for a fistbump. Justin and Lexi kiss quickly, but the rest of the interaction is awkward.
With Dale in the kissing booth, Alexe comes back in. But Kat came next, and “the moment Kat walked in the booth, everything melted away. We got lost in that moment,” Dale said. Though after Kat, Alli Jo, and Zoe come in to kiss him.
While the “Kiss and Don’t Tell” game didn’t shake things up that much, it made the people who were confident about their relationships feel more confident, like Jess and Spencer, who only chose each other.
Parisa interrupts what looks like a very awkward conversation between Zoe and Brian to ask Brian on a date. Next up, Alli Jo starts chatting with Jonathon. And though he expresses some interest, Alexe does say that she feels relatively confident in her relationship with him. Alli Jo also pulls Dale aside to chat, but ultimately, she decides to ask Jonathon on the date. (And despite her reassurances to the contrary, Alexe is “clearly stressed” that Jonathon is on this date.)
So a double date is set: Alli Jo is taking Jonathon, and Parisa is taking Brian. They arrive at a club in Costa Rica for game night…with none other than Bartender Wells of course. There are three games: Tico Twerk-Off (with a box strapped to their hips, players have to shake all the balls out of the box); Sloth Climb (the girls have to climb to the other side of their man without touching the ground); and Arm-Wresting against Eduardo Gigante, supposedly local arm wrestling champion (who could just be a dude that happens to be larger and who can make a scary face).
Honestly, the games were a little bit boring—they seemed like fun to play but they weren’t so fun to watch. The rest of the date saw each couple taking some time to chat. Biran admitted to Parisoa that 24 hours before, he hadn’t been able to see a fiancée or serious relationship at the end (which is what he wants). With Parisa, he can see that.
So while Alli Jo and Jonathon go their separate ways once getting back to the Paradise resort, Brian and Parisa decide to continue their date with a nighttime dip in the pool.
Simultaneously, we continue to see Zoe ranting to Bailey and Jeremy about how upset she is, though she hasn’t officially decided to end things yet.
Meanwhile, a new woman is joining the resort. Enter, Jill Chin.
“Paradise just got an upgrade, cause Jill is back,” she says, reminding us that she was in Paradise in the 8th season (and she was on Clayton Echard’s season). She is not afraid to put herself out there and she plans to leave the bad vibes in Mexico (aka the location of previous Paradise seasons).
Because she was in the same season of Paradise with Justin, she pulls her friend aside to get the details on who she should pursue…though no one sticks out immediately.
Following their conversation, Justin and Lexi have a new conversation, again, about his ex, Susie. Lexi wants reassurances from Justin that he doesn’t know how to give her.
“I have feelings for you, I just need to take a breather and see how a few things play out before I’m comfortable moving forward,” Lexi tells him.
And, in true Bachelor-producers-poking-the-bear fashion, Susie Evans joins the crew. Susie was previously engaged to Clayton, though they broke up six months after the Final Rose. She then appeared on Paradise in season 8, alongside Justin and Jill. Though she and Justin were close friends for a long time, they eventually started dating. Justin and Susie broke up four months before this season of Paradise started.
Jeremy is quickly interested, calling her a “nice surprise.”
Jill catches Susie up on the drama: “Everyone has a half boyfriend. But everyone’s open apparently,” she says, with an eyeroll.
Jeremy pulls Susie aside, and the two quickly vibe with each other.
Meanwhile, because Zoe is seeing things deteriorate with Brian, she turns to Dale, who then tells her that Kat is his focus. (In a confessional, he says, “Kat and I have something that’s far and away from everyone else in the house,” and that she is the only person he wants to be with right now.)
Later, Justin and Susie chat to catch up and make sure they’re on the same page, despite how hard the conversation is. Lexi is still worried about unresolved feelings.
Day 5
Moving to Day 5, the Zoe-Brian drama is kind of all-consuming again. But, on the other hand, Alexe and Jonathon are vibing nearby. Both have separately said that they don’t know if the relationship is going anywhere.
Wells says in a confessional, “I don’t know if I see the romantic connection really. I could be wrong. … But I’m never wrong.”
Jill and Susie are awarded the next date cards.
Brian pulls aside Zoe to tell her that he thinks he has a better connection with Parisa. She ends the conversation by saying, “The switchup is crazy, and I hope you made the right choice.”
Then Lexi pulls Susie aside.
“I’m a girls’ girl and I think Justin’s great, but I wanted to do right by you,” she tells Susie.
Susie’s response is that she doesn’t want Lexi to hesitate because of her. Lexi feels more confident in her relationship with Justin because Susie gave her reassurances about the nature of their relationship.
Though Dale is confident in his relationship with Kat, he is just as interested in Alli Jo as Alli Jo is interested in him. Meanwhile, Kat sees them talking and decides to put herself right in their line of view.
Susie decides to take Jeremy on her date to go jet-skiing.
Jeremy says this was his best day in Paradise so far, that he wouldn’t have picked another person to do it with, and he’d been smiling the whole time.
Jill decides to take Jonathon on her date, so that at the very least, she has a friend in the presidential suite date with her.
“I just want to know if there’s a window there and see if I can slip through it.”
They drink Bloody Marys and play Twister.
Leading into the Rose Ceremony, there are many mixed emotions about who to give roses to and who will still be there by the end of it.
- Spencer gave his rose to Jess—there’s no surprise there. He tells Jess, “You are the reason that Paradise has exceeded all my expectations.”
- Dale gave his rose to Kat, telling her that “this has been the most unexpected but the best surprise in Paradise.”
- Jeremy chose to give his rose to Bailey, despite also thinking about Susie. However, during the cocktail party, Bailey told Jeremy that he was the reason she was there, and that reassured him about their relationship.
- Brian gave his rose to Parisa, which sets off Zoe’s anger again.
- Jonathan gives his rose to Alexe, though she is surprised to receive it. He says to her, “I’ve really enjoyed building a strong foundation with you. I want to see if we can go deeper.”
- The last person to give out a rose is Justin.
He gives his rose to….Susie. But she tells him that she can’t accept. So Justin runs off. He tells us that he basically tried to sacrifice his own relationship and his own happiness for Susie’s—before they started dating, they promised each other they would protect each other. Meanwhile, Lexi, who thought she’d get a rose from Justin, ran off in the other direction.
And, in true Bachelor-producers-leaving-us-on-a-cliffhanger fashion, this week’s episode left us on…a cliffhanger.
But, lucky us: This week, we got two Bachelor episodes.
And episode 2 opens back on this moment. Instead of one rose given out, three people left: Justin, Lexi, and Susie. Jesse asks Justin to leave his rose for someone else. His rose goes to Jill, who at first turns it down but then decides to accept.
The people sent home after episode 2 are: Alli Jo, Zoe, Lexi, Susie, and Justin.
(Side note: Since Bachelor in Paradise wrapped filming, Alli Jo and Sam McKinney, who was eliminated after the first week of Paradise, have been seen together in Florida, sparking dating rumors. Additionally, Lexi and Justin have seemingly continued the drama, online, in recent social media comment sections.)
Day 6
But following the “massacre” at the rose ceremony, as someone calls it the next day, the “Goldens” come. In 2023, the Golden Bachelor premiered, featuring the same setup as The Bachelor with a slightly older cast of singles. The next year brought us the Golden Bachelorette and here we have some of the Goldens joining Paradise, each of them also hoping to find love.
Eight Goldens arrive on a yacht: April Kirkwood is feisty and flirty and shares that she’s had parts of her knees redone. Leslie Fhima tells us that there won’t be as many tears in Paradise as there were on The Golden Bachelor and that she would give “serious thought” if any younger men approached her. Kim Buike shows up wearing a captain’s hat, referring to his former profession and his stint on The Golden Bachelorette. Ralph “RJ” Johnson tells us that if you’re looking for a guy who is 6’5”, with blue eyes, formerly in finance (referring to the popular TikTok sound), then he’s your man. Keith Gordon reminds us that he was the “Girl Dad” of The Golden Bachelorette and that he’s excited for fun. Natascha Hardee calls herself 62-year-young and that even if she was interested in someone, she might not remember their name. Kathy Swarts explains that she thinks looking for a husband is her full-time job, and she’s not going home empty-handed. Jack Lencioni explains that though he’s called a serial dater, he doesn’t think that’s a bad thing and that he’s had a lot of fun for an old guy. Charles “CK” King explains that he’s bringing a whole lot more confidence to Paradise because he’s learned what he’s looking for. Most importantly, he hopes for a mat and friends at the end.
The women are from Gerry Turner’s season of The Golden Bachelor (and the first season) and the men are from Joan Vassos’ season of The Golden Bachelorette.
Right off the bat, the Goldens came to party, impressing the younger contestants, though Jesse shares that they are not expected to cross the generational line.
“Unless you want to,” he adds. “Just please don’t make it weird.”
Early on, it’s not an intergenerational romantic relationship we see. Instead, we see April and Kat bond quickly, with someone even commenting that April is Kat in forty years.
Once we see the Goldens settle in a little bit, we return to the drama, especially Jill who, at this point, is really just looking for any man, with “a beating heart and a job.”
Right on cue, Andrew Spencer makes his way through the resort, marking his second time on Bachelor in Paradise (he was on season 8).
“I’m back cause I haven’t found the one yet,” he shares. “If you’re fun, flirty, and maybe into a little bit of castle building, come get me.” The newcomer, originally on Katie Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette, receives a date card before even meeting any of the women. However, Alexe and Bailey both immediately catch his eye because they’re his type, so he pulls each for a chat.
Though Bailey explains the drama of Susie and Jeremy going on a date, she explains to Andrew that, because Jeremy was on a date yesterday, she is open to going on a date. Alexe also shares that she is open to a date, despite her seeming relationship with Jonathon. Andrew seems to vibe with both, and despite some of the other girls hoping he chooses Alexe for a date, he asks Bailey. However, Bailey decides she needs to talk to Jeremy first.
Despite his date with a different girl the day before, Jeremy is upset that Bailey is pursuing someone else; he says that he decided to give her his rose because she told him that she was here for him—now he feels like Bailey just told him that to get his rose. Bailey, who was expecting him to be ok with her date with Andrew, was taken aback and upset that Jeremy was upset. Because they’re close friends, Bailey goes to Alexe, who is also upset because Andrew didn’t ask her.
Meanwhile, Jeremy is freaking out that he made the wrong choice and basically begs the producers to get Susie to come back.
“Is Susie gone already? Can you check? I’m not kidding, I want Susie back,” he says to a producer, in rapid succession.
Although she feels bad, Bailey decides to go on the date with Andrew to have some spa treatments.
The show cuts back to Jeremy asking a producer to call Susie. When she finally picks up the phone, she tells him that he should see things through, and she cannot come back. Though Jeremy seems to understand this, he also said earlier to one of the guys—while saying he might have made a mistake with his rose—that if things don’t work out with Bailey, he’ll “100%” DM Susie, after the show.
As the show cuts in and out of Bailey and Andrew’s spa date, we see Jeremy and Alexe talking about their relationships. Jeremy shares that he called Susie, and Alexe shares that she doesn’t think it’s working with Jonathon. Jeremy encourages Alexe to be open with Jonathon, so she is.
“I know that her intention wasn’t to just get the rose and say let’s be friends,” Jonathon says after Alexe hardcore friend zones him. “It’s better to be honest. … I just don’t know where I go now that things are done with me and Alexe.”
Day 7
Following the date with Andrew, Bailey explains that all she wanted was to see Jeremy before she went to bed and she tries to patch things up with him. After a lengthy conversation, they come to an impasse—neither know what to do because Bailey is upset that Jeremy is upset and Jeremy is upset because he feels misled. At this moment, the Goldens feel like a bit of comic relief, like while they all try to get on the inflatable unicorn inner tube in the pool and two people help April get on the inner tube. And then, without much lead-up, April and Jack are making out in the pool.
“It’s gonna be really sad if the first couple who hooks up is a Golden couple and not one of the Youngs,” Wells comments.
On the other hand, following his date with Bailey, Andrew reassures Alexe that he is still interested in her and he does still want to pursue her. “I will continue to keep trying,” he tells her, trying to show that she wasn’t just the second choice.
Soon after, Andrew and Alexe continue to flirt and then…make out in the pool.
“I am feeling giddy, and excited, and horny—JK—I just can’t want to go to bed to then wake up to hang out with him again,” Alexe shares.
Finally, following his non-break-up-break-up with Alexe, Jill pulls Jonathon aside to figure out what’s going on with him, following his comment that she was “making [his] decision harder,” regarding who he’d give a rose to. Jill hung onto that, hoping he’d be interested in her. But he says that he didn’t really mean that to be about her specifically.
“Men maybe shouldn’t be on this earth,” Jill says in a confessional, after Jill and Jonathon go back and forth and confuse themselves (and honestly, us too) even more.
After her conversation with Jonathon, Jill is pretty desperate, while talking with Spencer and Jess about what she should do.
“Send someone in for my girl, Jill, please,” Jess says.
So, of course, in walks Sean McLaughlin, a contestant from last season’s Bachelor in Paradise and Charity Lawson’s season of The Bachelorette.
“Third time’s a charm,” he says. Immediately, he receives a date card.
Though they don’t chat for too long, Sean asks Jill to go on the date with him—they’re going ATVing. And despite Jill’s preconceived notions of who he is, she says, “This is the most fun I’ve had since I’ve been here.”
That evening comes another cast exercise. (Important note here: The whole beginning of this segment is very weird and very camp. The activity is sponsored by the movie I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) so that intro to the segment is a “nightmare” Jesse has about Wells. It’s possible that Jesse was just bored and needed something fun to do and came up with this…who knows.)
The exercise is about sharing secrets. Each contestant writes down a secret. Then the secrets are read out loud, and the cast gets to vote on what the best secret is. The person whose secret wins can choose to reveal themselves for a reward.
Some of the secrets include:
- “On a final, I erased someone’s name and wrote mine,” to which Dale said, “Dude, no one cares about some high school test.”
- “I projectile vomited on myself in an Uber at 11 a.m.,” is Kat’s secret (and it cost her $200).
- “Every time I have to toot in piffle school, I blamed it on the same boy.” Most people thought this was a Golden, but Jess revealed this to be her secret.
- “I had an OnlyFans account for my feet,” seems to have been Dale’s secret, but it’s not clear for sure.
- “I’ve hooked up with someone 25 years older than me.”
- “I found $500,000 and kept it.”
- “I spent a summer as a playmate for a female couple,” is revealed to be RJ’s secret.
- AND “I slept with another person in my home while my partner was in another room,” wins as the best secret.
Kathy reveals this to be her secret—for revealing herself, she is awarded a key to the VIP Suite. While she’s trying to figure out who to take to the suite, Kim is making moves on April, which upsets Jack.
“Second door on the right, if you need me,” April says, not long after this, to Jonathon. Jonathon is immediately weirded out, but everyone else thinks this is funny.
Kathy finally decides to ask Keith to go to the VIP Suite because “he is a really nice guy and he’s constantly telling me how beautiful I am, how funny I am,” she says.
The suite is beautiful, overlooking the ocean, complete with champagne and a hot tub.
“Keith is a perfect mix of a guy who likes to party. But you can have a deep conversation with him,” Kathy says, summing up the jaunt to the VIP Suite. She adds that her husband, who passed away six years ago, would want her to find her guy.
“I’m just blessed that she even asked me to come up here,” Keith says.
Back at the pool, in the non-VIP section of the resort, Jonathon tries to apologize to Jill because she’s “kind of [his] last shot.” (Many other people watch this interaction go down, and someone even says he wants to get popcorn to watch it.) However, she’s not really interested after he basically already friend-zoned her.
In a confessional afterward, Jonathon repeats that Jill was his last shot. A producer then asks, ‘Coming up to the rose ceremony, is April an option?’—reminding us that she basically already offered. (‘Second door on the right, if you need me.’)
But we won’t get an answer to that until the next episode. Here’s the promo:
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