Hannah Brown's season of The Bachelorette is winding down, which means that another eventful year of Bachelor in Paradise is just around the corner. Every Bachelor fan knows that tossing the franchise's most loathed and beloved contestants onto a beach for a few weeks results in epic pandemonium, and as Paradise enters its sixth season, people are still talking about past years' most entertaining moments. Before you start casting theories about who ends up together this year, refresh yourself on the 10 most memorable moments from Bachelor in Paradise.
From fake weddings to production shutdowns, the first five years of Paradise have been quite the epic ride. The summer spinoff series began in 2014 following the cancellation of the Bachelor franchise's first spinoff Bachelor Pad, which primarily focused on money rather than love. Moving away from the mansion and onto the Mexican beach for the relationship-centric Paradise, ABC proved any haters wrong when Paradise's first three seasons all led to marriages between contestants, although one of these unions turned out to be as shifty as The Bachelorette's Luke P. (more on that later).
Whether you've been watching Paradise shenanigans from the very beginning or only recently rode a wave up to the beach, it's safe to say that every season has delivered its fair share of drama, romance, and humor. Before watching fan favorites like John Paul Jones and Hannah G. search for love on Paradise Season 6, check out the top moments Paradise fans still can't stop talking about.
Clare Crawley solidified a fan base on Juan Pablo's Bachelor season when she dragged the disliked lead after he turned her down at the proposal stage. While her empowered moment is still legendary in the world of The Bachelor, her breaking point on the first season of Paradise is remembered for much different reasons.
Receiving the first date card of the season, Clare asked out fellow contestant Graham, who had already cozied up with AshLee. AshLee started badmouthing Clare, which sent her into the bushes to tearfully confide in a raccoon. Of course, her beastly bud was actually an off-camera producer, but the visual gag was popular enough for the show to poke fun at it when Clare appeared on Paradise Season 2.
The first season of Paradise ended with Bachelorette Season 10 favorite Marcus Grodd proposing to Lacy Faddoul, a Night One castoff from Juan Pablo's Bachelor season. At first glance, this seemed to legitimize relationships that formed on Paradise and present an alternative to the speedy relationships formed on The Bachelor.
The two were married in a 2015 ceremony televised on Season 2 of Paradise, but according to Marcus, Lacy then kept delaying the move to make their marriage legal in the United States. By early 2016, Lacy had reportedly grown distant from Marcus, who told PEOPLE, "It became a toxic relationship at times. She was very controlling. I was more of an appeasing person. I wouldn’t want to fight. There were a lot of barriers that we couldn’t overcome. I think that that made her change her mind.”
Marcus confirmed in June 2016 that he and Lacy were no longer together.
After exiting Rachel Lindsay's Bachelorette season as a fan favorite, Dean Unglert instantly connected with Bachelor Season 21 contestant Kristina Schulman on Paradise. When Paradise shut down production to investigate accusations of sexual misconduct, the two even embarked on an impromptu road trip together and returned to the beach stronger than ever. But things got complicated when Danielle Lombard arrived and an intrigued Dean began splitting his attention between both women.
He continued this back-and-forth until finally breaking up with Kristina in favor of Danielle and then ending the season single in respect to his bond with Kristina. The Paradise Season 4 reunion then revealed that Dean pursued both women after filming. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
They're now married with one child and another on the way, but Carly Waddell wasn't thrilled about an eager Evan Bass pursuing her on Season 3 of Paradise. A little leery after experiencing heartbreak on the previous season, Carly initially kept her distance from Evan, even briefly breaking things off because she didn't feel chemistry with him. Evan won her back when he seemingly faked a medical emergency and Carly sat through the aftermath with him, leading to them finally bonding for the better. To this day, Evan's Instagram bio reads, "How to fake death, get the girl, & have a TV wedding in 62.5 easy missteps."
On Becca Kufrin's Bachelorette season, Colton Underwood's pre-show fling with her fellow Bachelor contestant Tia Booth stirred some early drama. Both of them assured Becca that they didn't have feelings for each other anymore, but Tia later interfered after hometown dates and implied she still liked Colton. As a result, Colton was essentially sent straight on a direct flight to Mexico, where he danced around the chance to begin a relationship with Tia.
The indecisive Colton finally committed to being her boyfriend, but he then began having doubts. He claimed his heart wasn't in the relationship and that Tia deserved better, and a tearful Tia seemed to sense that the breakup was coming. After months of what felt like the Colton and Tia show on The Bachelorette and Paradise, they both left the beach but maintained a friendship, as Tia supported Colton when he became the Bachelor later that year.
Before dating IRL and getting engaged on Season 5 of Paradise, Ashley Iaconetti originally fell for Jared Haibon on the spinoff's second season. They left that season as friends, but followers of Ashley I. know that she never really gave up on the idea of ending up with Jared. Having already been on the beach in Season 3, Jared was interested in Bachelor Season 20 contestant Caila Quinn, who supposedly promised Ashley beforehand that she wouldn't pursue Jared.
The two's canoodling came to a screeching halt when Ashley arrived in Paradise and broke down at the thought of Jared loving someone else. She proceeded to slam Caila and other women who caught the attention of guys she could connect with, but given the publicity her upcoming wedding with Jared is getting, the franchise seems to have forgiven her for these harsh statements.
Jordan Kimball and Jenna Cooper were an out-of-the-blue pairing that eventually won over viewers, but what came after cameras shut off definitely couldn't have been predicted. In September 2018, blogger Reality Steve published screenshots of texts allegedly detailing a secret relationship between Jenna and another man during her engagement to Jordan. Jenna claimed that the texts were fake and that Jordan had changed his behavior after they left Paradise. On the other hand, Jordan was convinced the rumors were true, telling PEOPLE, "I know my Jenna, and I read those texts and in my heart, I know it’s her."
Nearly a year later, this scandal still hasn't really led to a solid conclusion. While the two split after the news broke, Jenna announced in May 2019 that she was writing a book about her truth. Jordan appears to be over the feud, telling Life & Style, "I’m not entertaining anything she says, It’s almost been a year and she is still at it. What a nightmare."
Contestants Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson became even more well-known names before this season of Paradise even started airing. In June 2017, Paradise production was suspended after allegations of misconduct emerged. As filming for the new season commenced, interactions between DeMario and Corinne concerned a producer to the point of reporting misconduct in the workplace. At the time, production company Warner Bros, said in a statement, "We have suspended production and we are conducting a thorough investigation of these allegations. Once the investigation is complete, we will take appropriate responsive action."
After this search found no misconduct, filming soon resumed without DeMario and Corinne. The event was an eerie circumstance of real life clashing with the Bachelor bubble, and while the franchise implemented stricter rules about drinking and sexual consent after this, Paradise usually avoids revisiting this chapter of its history.
Old Matt Donald was a strong contender on Night One of Hannah Brown's Bachelorette season, but never has an early castoff made an impact like Season 14's Grocery Store Joe, aka Joe Amabile. The Chicago grocer received his own intro package showing his store and his struggle to find love, winning over fans with his good looks and modest demeanor. He clammed up meeting Bachelorette Becca and went home on the first night, but the internet ensured that their love of Joe was heard. He appeared on Season 5 of Paradise, fell for other fan favorite Kendall Long, and competed on Dancing with the Stars after a summer in Mexico.
Chad Johnson quickly solidified himself as a villain on JoJo Fletcher's Bachelorette season, and while other baddies have used Paradise as a redemption tour, Chad didn't live up to this tradition. Soon after the season kicked off, he got drunk and acted aggressively toward several women. His behavior was troubling enough for host Chris Harrison to remove him from the show, but Chad wasn't leaving without a memorable soundbite.
After Harrison basically chased him off the beach, Chad ranted about the show portraying him badly and Harrison not understanding life as a contestant. As the older man tried to calm him down, Chad fired back, "F*ck you, Chris Harrison." Thanks for the evergreen GIF when a Bachelorette episode ends with "To Be Continued," Chad!
Season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise premieres at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 5, on ABC.
