In between keeping track of Nicole and Onyeka's feud and celebrating Heather's "has-been-kissed" status, viewers of The Bachelor's Feb. 4 episode were distracted by an inexplicable detail on contestant Kirpa's chin. The 26-year-old dental hygienist has remained in the background of Season 23 so far, but Bachelor Nation noticed that, while in Thailand, she started appearing with a Band-Aid dominating the lower half of her face. What happened to Kirpa's chin on The Bachelor? A deleted scene has now explained her mysterious injury.
Apart from being older than the crowd of Colton's 23-year-old early favorites, Kirpa hasn't done much to stand out from her fellow contestants yet. In her intro package during the season premiere, she spoke about her diverse family and wanting to clean Colton's teeth, but other than her getting a peek at Colton's chompers this week, fans don't know much about Kirpa. However, as deleted footage from the Thailand episode proved, she's willing to do anything for Instagram, and that includes visiting the hospital. Same, girl, same.
As she explains to the cameras in the deleted Bachelor scene, Kirpa was trying to take a photo in front of the ocean when she forgot that it had rained, making the nearby rocks wet and slippery. "Went to step on a rock, slipped, went to catch myself with my hand, and then instead my chin took the fall," she says in the footage. "Five stitches later and a sprained wrist, and here I am!"
Hospital trips definitely earn a girl a rose, right?
Inspiring a Twitter account called "Kirpa's Chin," the episode's lack of explanation about Kirpa's look became a major talking point during an otherwise slow-moving episode. Don't underestimate fans' attention to detail, ABC.
For those who forgot about Kirpa before Band-Aid-Gate, her contestant bio reads:
This beautiful and spunky California girl works for her dad's dentistry business as a dental hygienist. She loves hiking, reading, cooking and swimming. Her one deal breaker? Colton better floss.
Proving that she wasn't lying about pulling a basic move in Thailand, Kirpa also told ABC that her favorite TV show is Grey's Anatomy, which is about as ordinary as it gets. Based on her Instagram, she also isn't afraid to poke fun at herself, sharing the deleted clip and writing, "PSA: selfies can be dangerous, people. [W]hen trying to be extra AF take necessary precautions."
Talk about a word to the wise.
Since The Bachelor began, Kirpa has also shared behind-the-scenes photos of herself with the other women, which definitely hints at the friendship moments we may see on this year's season of Bachelor in Paradise if she isn't the one for Colton. We have to wait until The Bachelorette for a sense of what kind of men will be in the cast, but if Kirpa's humor about her chin shines through at the beach, it ought to be a great season. Just avoid any rocks in Mexico if you head down there, girl!
Season 23 of The Bachelor continues on Monday, Feb. 11, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
