Derek Peth didn’t simply leave Bachelor in Paradise Monday night.
He also left his fellow Bachelor in Paradise contestants questioning their feelings, themselves and their place on the show in general.
In particular, we write here about Tayshia Adams and Blake Horstmann and their reaction yesterday evening to Derek’s stunning departure.
Tayshia, for instance, wasn’t certain how she felt about John Paul Jones in the wake of the Derek decision, while Blake had started to realizie his chances of finding love in Mexico were slim to, quite possibly, none.
Yes, Adams admitted, she had a “soft spot” for Jones — but what did that really mean in the bigger picture?
As for Horstmann?
He had an epiphany on Tuesday’s episode and actually convinced himself that Kristina Schulman was the woman he had been searching for all along.
“We always gravitate toward each other,” he told viewers on air. “Maybe we owe each other this, to give it a shot.”
Suddenly inspirde, Blake grabbed Kristina for a chat and told her he was "all in" and totally sure of it… at the moment.
“I thought I just wanted to be friends with you, I did,” he said. “And here I am, saying that I can’t stop thinking about you. It’s driving me f—ing crazy and it’s terrifying.”
Could Kristina actually trust the guy responsible for so much drama this season?
She actually decided yes, she was willing to do so… resulting in Mike Johnson getting sent home at the rose ceremony.
(So he could go prep to be the next Bachelor, we pray really hard.)
The next morning, just as Blake and Kristina were beginning to explore their romance, everyone was thrown for a loop — thanks to a pair of arrivals.
First, in walked Bri Barnes from Colton Underwood‘s season of The Bachelor.
It turns out that Blake and Bri had hit it off at Chris Randone and Krystal Nielson’s wedding just days prior (because of course they did) and when Barnes pulled Blake aside for a discussion, Kristina basically lost it.
And yet:
Blake stuck to his word, nicely declining Bri’s date card.
She ended up going surfing with fellow newcomer Matt Donald, while Blake desperately – and unsuccessfully – attempted to break down Kristina’s walls back at the bungalows.
At last, we get to Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Connor Saeli (from Hannah Brown‘s season of The Bachelorette), two people looking for love and no drama.
“I came here for a relationship, and finally, I feel good," Caelynn said at one point. "Connor and I are exploring what we have, and I’m happy. I deserve this after the hell that I’ve been through.”
However, all was about to change.
Just when it seemed as if nothing could go wrong, a freshly-shaven Dean Unglert made his totally unexpected return (!!!!!!!!!!) to beg Caelynn for another chance after dumping her — just a week ago.
“When I left, I made a decision that I thought was best for you, but it wasn’t really fair of me to make that decision,” he explained, adding:
“Then I flew back to San Diego, and the entire flight back I literally could not stop thinking about you. I rented a car and drove to the Grand Canyon, and as I was there I thought about how badly I wished that you were there with me.”
How sweet and not remotely scripted, right?
“I knew that I needed to come here and tell you that I wanted us to try and be in a relationship,” Dean added. “I came here to ask you if you would leave Paradise with me today.”
Wow, huh? Caelynn didn’t know what to say or what to do.
“Right now, I’m the most confused I’ve ever been in my entire life. This is not an easy decision,” she said. “I literally have the dangerous guy and the perfect man. I have no idea what to do.”
We’ll need to tune in next week to find out what she chooses.
Darn you, ABC!
