This Long-Term BIP Cast Member Left For A Surprising Reason
Did anyone know he was holding onto those feelings?
Love triangles are par for the course when it comes to Bachelor In Paradise. Usually, when someone is at the center of a love triangle and has two relationship options, it’s assumed they’ll wind up with at least one of the two options. But sometimes there’s a surprise ending and, unfortunately, everyone ends up alone. That’s what happened with Andrew Spencer, who had a few options for love in BIP Season 8, but decided to leave for a very surprising reason.
Andrew was one of the original cast members who got to start out on the beach at the very beginning of this season of BIP. With so much time on the beach, he found himself in a few different relationships. First, he paired up with Teddi Wright, but she tearfully self-eliminated when she realized her feelings for Andrew weren’t where she needed them to be. After that, Andrew paired up with Brittany Galvin for a bit, before beginning a relationship with Jessenia Cruz. It seemed like Andrew and Jessenia were going strong until Ency Abedin arrived on the beach. She took Andrew on a 1-on-1 date and they really hit it off, creating a major love triangle between Andrew, Jessenia, and Ency. However, that love triangle did not last for long.
During the Sadie Hawkins dance in the Nov. 15 episode, Jessenia pulled Andrew to the side and told him she was disappointed in him for exploring so many different relationships and creating “wasted time” for her. He responded by saying he was trying to be open to love.
“I’m not well,” he explained. “I was gonna go home.” But, as Andrew explained it, his relationship with Ency gave him some new hope. Even though Andrew was letting Jessenia know about his feelings for Ency, Ency walked up and Andrew an ultimatum: Either stop talking to Jessenia, or Ency was ending things for good.
It turns out, that was more or less fine with Andrew, because he didn’t really want to pursue things with Jessenia or Ency. In fact, he admitted, he still had feelings for his first Paradise love.
“My heart is still with someone else: Teddi,” Andrew said. “That’s the reason why I have nothing here. I tried. That’s my decision.”
With that revelation, Jessenia self-eliminated, leaving Andrew and Ency to deal with their relationship. But the ultimatum Ency made proved to be too much for Andrew. “The way it went down and the things that were said, I just can’t do it anymore,” he told her.
Ency begged Andrew not to leave, but he insisted that it wasn’t because of Ency; he’d “given his last heart” in Paradise.
“Love is the most powerful thing in the world and you need to make sure it’s with someone you can’t live without,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t there 100%. I just needed to get further to this bar I set with Teddi, and no one could match it. And when she left I just feel like I was never the same.”
It was a heartbreaking ending for a BIP fan-favorite. Hopefully, Andrew’s path to love is less rocky in the future.
Season 8 of Bachelor In Paradise airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
