Bachelor in Paradise’s drama isn’t only on the beach. Episode two of the seventh season of ABC’s reality series aired Monday, and pre-Paradise drama loomed large in Mexico, all of which ET is breaking down in the recap below.
A new arrival on the beach was ready to “fk some st up,” while a fan-favorite’s true intentions were questioned.
A developing romance and a few last-ditch efforts for a rose played out next, before one woman sent herself home after being accused of having a beau waiting for her.
Keep reading for a full recap of episode two of Bachelor in Paradise.
Demi Wants to ‘Fk Some St Up’
Demi made her long-awaited Paradise return on Monday, following her breakup from Kristian Haggerty, whom she got engaged to on season 6 of BiP.
Guest host David Spade next asked Demi, who previously came out as queer, if she’d be “heading toward the P or the V this week.”
“Honestly, I’m into both men and women, but I want to date some dudes here,” Demi replied. “I want to take over the beach. I want to shock some people. I want to stir some s**t up. I love causing trouble. It’s actually my favorite thing to do.”
With a date card in hand, Demi made her way down to the beach, proclaiming, “Those poor girls. I’m gonna steal all their men. I wanna fk some st up.”
Demi was quick to talk to Connor, Kenny and Brendan, as Victoria P. noted, “No one is safe because Demi is here.”
Ultimately, Demi asked Brendan on her date because their sexual tension was “so good.” The decision left Natasha, who Brendan had been hanging out with, near tears.
The pair headed off to jet ski, where they had a good time and made out a bit and Demi admitted to “crushing so hard.” Brendan wasn’t feeling it as much, though, telling Demi that they should “talk to other people, go on other dates, and see if our paths cross again along this journey.”
Demi was left confused by Brendan’s statement, saying in a confessional, “I feel weird. I feel very uncomfortable. I’m going to go out of my way to take you on a fun a** date, do all this stuff with you, make out with you, have fun with you, and you’re still going to say, ‘Oh, I want to keep my options open.’ My ego is very bruised right now.”
“This has never happened to me before. Except Colton, and that was brutal, but he was gay!” Demi later added in a confessional about her ex, Colton Underwood, who came out earlier this year. “There is a storm brewing. It’s a category four Hurricane Demi.”
Brendan’s Intentions Are Questioned
While Brendan and Demi were away on their date, Mari and Deandra expressed their belief that he was “holding out” for Pieper, Matt James’ ex with whom he hung out pre-Paradise. Natasha was not pleased to hear that, calling the situation “f**ked up.”
Things only got worse for Brendan when he arrived back at the beach and the women told Demi about the Pieper situation. After Demi questioned why he’d “waste” her time, she confronted him directly.
“Pieper and I, we’ve hung out. We spent some time together. We’ve communicated. We’ve enjoyed each other’s company. And that’s that,” Brendan told Demi. “There’s no relationship.”
Demi didn’t seem to buy it though, and Brendan moved on to face Natasha.
“Pieper and I met about a month and a half ago. I think she’s cool, and we’ve talked a little bit, and hung out a little bit. We don’t have any labels on anything. I don’t know if she’s going to be here or not,” Brendan said, before Natasha responded by questioning why he came to Paradise if he had feelings for someone at home.
“My relationship with Pieper’s just been super casual. I’ve had deeper conversations with you than I had with Pieper,” he answered. “I don’t have anything more to say than that. I really, really like spending time with you, and I think you’re a sweetheart, and you seem to be a lot of fun. I have the strongest connection with you.”
Unlike Demi, Natasha seemed sold, praising Brendan in a confessional for being “so open” and “very sweet.”
Jessenia and Ivan’s Romance Develops
Amid all the drama with Brendan, Jessenia scored the date card and asked Ivan to accompany her. The pair’s romantic night was picture perfect, with Ivan gushing that he wants to make Jessenia “feel really special because she definitely deserves it.”
During their conversation, Jessenia opened up about the challenges of being on Matt James’ season of The Bachelor, which was shrouded in a racism controversy.
“Coming off of Matt’s season, a lot of the aftermath essentially overshadowed what should have been a really special experience for all of us, especially for Matt, and really kind of started this conversation about people of color,” Jessenia, who is of Puerto Rican descent, said.
She later added that she received “really scary, really nasty messages online” after her season, where people were “outright racist” to her. Though such messages made her question if she should come to Paradise, Jessenia told Ivan that she “feels safe here, I feel safe with you.”
Ivan responded by assuring her that she’d be getting his rose, and the pair shared a kiss.
“Ivan’s definitely someone I can see myself falling in love with,” Jessenia admitted.
The Fight for a Rose
Back on the beach, relationships continued to develop between Karl and Deandra, Noah and Abigail, Kenny and Mari, Joe and Serena P., Tre and Tahzjuan, and Maurissa and Connor.
“I feel like we have a really great connection and something special at this point,” Connor said of Maurissa, before revealing that he’s excited to “hopefully fall in love again.”
Not everyone felt safe, though. Serena C., feeling as if she may go home, decided to flirt with Tammy’s man, Aaron, by rapping for him. The pair kissed and Serena C. felt “butterflies,” but Tammy was not having it and decided to stake her claim on Aaron by straddling him in full view of everyone.
When Tammy was ready to head back to the group, Aaron said, “I’m definitely pretty excited, so I can’t get up.”
Like Serena C., Victoria L. decided to flirt around for a rose, going up to Brendan and Tre, the latter of which upset Tahzjuan.
‘There’s a Tahznado coming tonight, and Victoria L. better watch out,” Tahzjuan told the camera, before confronting Victoria L. herself and calling her “fraudulent.”
Victoria L. apologized, but Tahzjuan wasn’t buying it. The self-proclaimed goddess called Tahzjuan “nuts” and “crazy” before storming off in tears.
James Gets ‘Blindsided’ by Victoria P.
Throughout the episode, Victoria P. continuously implied that she was continuing her relationship with James solely for a rose. In interviews, she often couldn’t remember his name, and said she wanted a rose to stay in the competition.
James was none the wiser and wanted to “progress the relationship forward,” until Tammy approached him to claim that Victoria P. has a boyfriend at home.
“She has a boyfriend who’s, like, an aspiring country singer back at home. She was with him literally Thursday. They share a dog together,” Tammy told James. “… I want you to find a connection like me and Aaron have a connection and this is not a genuine connection… I don’t want to see you played.”
Tammy additionally told James that Victoria P. didn’t know his name, saying, “You don’t mean anything to her.”
James’ head was “spinning” with the news, so he decided to approach Kelsey for confirmation. After Kelsey backed up Tammy’s story, James headed off to have a confirmation with Victoria P.
He calmly asked her for a “straightforward yes or no,” which she responded to by asking him to “take a deep breath because I feel like you may be coming at me a little.”
She denied having a boyfriend, telling James that they broke up before she arrived to Paradise. “He encouraged me to step into this with an open heart, and that’s what I did,” she said.
When he questioned why it hadn’t come up during their ex talk, Victoria P. said that some things “take a little bit more time” to come out, adding, “I don’t even know your last name.”
“You didn’t know my first name for a while,” he replied.
As Tammy spread the word about Victoria P. to the other contestants, James questioned if he was “used for a rose.” Victoria P. seemed more upset by her friends telling James about her supposed beau, though, especially when she, once again, couldn’t remember his name during a confessional.
When Victoria P. made her way over to Kelsey and Tammy, she told them, “Let me use my therapy techniques and make this healthy for all of us ‘cause I love y’all. I know this environment can bring out parts of people that aren’t real.”
Kelsey responded by asking Victoria P. if she was denying having a boyfriend.
“I am literally in a place where I am willing to own my mistakes,” Victoria P. replied. “I am of course disappointed that you guys felt like you needed to go to him to talk instead of coming to me.”
The women argued, before Victoria P. decided to set “a healthy boundary” and remove herself from the conversation, which left Kelsey speculating, “She’s caught in a lie that she doesn’t know how to get out of.”
In a confessional, Victoria P. lamented, “I know this is going to make me grow… I’m upset because the words I’m giving the people that I love, the words are being questioned. I did not come into this without an open heart because that would require me to lie to somebody else. I can’t fake it. I can’t lie.”
Eventually, Victoria P. decided to leave the show, telling James, “I walked into this 100 percent open. I think the best thing to do is to take all of me, imperfect me, growing me, and walk away from this.”
As she was driven away from Paradise, Victoria P. seemed to confirm the boyfriend allegations, stating, “I tried to make something work and I realized I don’t have to search for what I already have at home.”
James was glad to have “fake” Victoria P. behind him, and debated if he should give his newly available rose to Demi or Kelsey. Even after Kelsey got sick at the rose ceremony and had to sit down, James’ rose was awarded to Demi, which sent Kelsey, Serena C., and Victoria L. home.
There’s Lots to Scream About
Things won’t slow down on next week’s episode, as Lance Bass joins the show as its new guest host. With the women in control, Noah predicted that the week “will be savage.”
His guess seems to come true as Riley and Thomas arrive.
“Someone’s making out with this guy. I’ll be OK if it’s me,” Serena P. says of Thomas, with whom she appears to go out on a date with and kiss.
Serena P.’s new connection will be hard for Joe, who gets flashbacks to when his ex, Kendall, flirted with another guy when they were on a previous season of BiP together.
Meanwhile, Tahzjuan and Maurissa flirt with Riley, bumming out both Tre and Connor.
The women aren’t the only source of drama, as Aaron appears to reignite his Bachelorette feud with Thomas, declaring “I’m gonna f**king kill that guy.”
The preview ends with talk of punches being thrown as screams ring out in the background.
