Bachelor in Paradise skipped over the drama and went straight for the mess on Monday night's episode. It might have been the messiest episode of BiP yet — including the Blake Horstmann Stagecoach debacle of 2019. And the Bachelor alums' reactions to the Brendan-Pieper-Natasha drama is just the messy cherry on top.
Bachelor Nation was reacting to two very different, but very juicy, things in the episode. It wasn't just that Brendan was exposed for stringing Natasha along all this time just so he could wait for Pieper to get to the beach. (Though that was plenty dramatic.) It was also Pieper and Brendan openly discussing their pre-BiP relationship, how it impacted their plans for the beach, and how their relationship translated into Instagram followers. They said the quiet part out loud. In front of the cameras. While mic'd.
It was a truly shocking twist for regular fans and Bach alums, who seemed baffled by Pieper and Brendan's flagrant disregard for their mics. After 30+ combined seasons of Bachelor, Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise, it honestly starts to feel like nothing can surprise Bach alums. And yet, based on their reactions, they're not going to be recovering from this anytime soon.
Natasha Parker — Team WTF
Natasha's live reactions to the episode were brutal. Like all of us, she was hearing Brendan and Pieper's conversations for the first time, and she was not impressed. She also retweeted a fan who called out Pieper and Brendan's "disrespect" on Instagram, and I don't blame her.
Blake Horstmann — Team WTF
As someone who got the villain treatment on BiP, Blake tried to give Brendan the benefit of the doubt in his Instagram Stories reacting to the episode. But even he had to admit that there was something very suss about Brendan and Pieper's apparent scheme to get on Paradise together. "They literally planned this whole thing," he said. "And now they're talking about follower counts? Nooooo!"
Blake tried not to judge too harshly, but when Brendan and Pieper started complaining about Natasha, even he couldn't hold it in anymore. "Oh my god. Trying to be nice, but, fuck, he's being a dick." If you get Blake Hortsmann, you know you've done something bad.
Tammy Ly — Team Natasha / Team "I'd Like To Be Excluded From The Narrative"
Current Bachelor in Paradise contestants were just as shocked as we were to hear Brendan and Pieper's conversation about followers on the day bed. After declaring her allegiance to Natasha on Twitter, Tammy turned to the Insta convo, insisting, "We are ALL shocked to hear what was said on this episode. We don't get to listen in on "private" convos until it gets aired back."
Tammy was also one of a handful of Bach alums who got dragged into Brendan and Pieper's drama, despite having nothing to do with it. After seeing her comment on Brendan's pre-BiP episode Instagram post, which he captioned "Here for the wrong reasons," fans thought Tammy was joking at Natasha's expense. But Tammy wasn't having it, later clearing up that she commented "HOURS before watching this episode."
Chelsea Vaughn — Team "I'd Like To Be Excluded From The Narrative"
Chelsey, who is friends with Pieper off the show, was caught in a similar pickle with fans because she also commented on Brendan's Instagram photo. After the episode aired, she hopped on her Instagram stories to say that she was friends with Natasha and did not intend to make light of her pain. She ended her reaction with a plea for people to stop sending her hate messages.
Nick Viall — Team Natasha
Nick pledged allegiance to Natasha, tweeting that she "absolutely dominated that episode." He also wasn't shy in calling out Pieper and Brendan for their apparent plan to meet up in Paradise.
Ashley Iaconetti Haibon — Team Natasha
Ashley Iaconetti knows a thing or two about Paradise drama. She posted a series of reactions to her Instagram story, mostly boomerangs of shocked faces that were relatively neutral in the whole Natasha vs. Brendan of it all. It wasn't until Brendan tried to say that he saved Natasha from being sent home because she didn't have any other guys wanting to give her their rose that Ashley unleashed, sending him a very pointed message.
Deandra Kanu — Team Natasha
Deandra is so Team Natasha, she didn't even spell Brendan's name correctly in her tweet calling him out. She's right, too, he's not worth the effort.
Tre Cooper — Team Regrets
Tre didn't explicitly comment on the Brendan-Pieper-Natasha situation on Twitter last night, but he did seem to hint that he might have been interested in pursuing Natasha on the beach if Brendan wasn't around. "Definitely have a few 'what if...'s after watching this episode," he tweeted.
Clay Harbor — Team Natasha
Clay Harbor also took offense at Brendan's wildly off-base comment about Natasha's "prospects," calling him a fboy and finishing his live tweet by saying, "I would take Natasha out yesterday."
Honestly, same.
Demi Burnett — Team Natasha
Demi might be a drama queen on the show, but you can always count on her to give it to you straight on socials. She called out Brendan for going on BiP for clout, and even accused him of going on her date because of her follower count.
On a more serious note, she also called Natasha "a bad bitch" for how she handled Brendan, so you know where her loyalties lie.
Diggy Moreland — Team Natasha
Diggy was not here for Brendan's attempts at gaslighting Natasha. On Tuesday morning, Diggy also shared a Twitter thread from fellow Bach alum, Danielle Maltby, who asked fans not to send hate Pieper and Brendan's way... because it would only strengthen their social media brand!
Danielle Maltby — Team Natasha
As fans flocked to Brendan and Pieper's Instagram pages to give them a talking to in their comments, Danielle suggested that, if fans really wanted to show Pieper and Brendan how they feel about their actions, they should give Natasha love instead.
Bekah Martinez — Team Producers
Bekah Martinez went on a true roller coaster watching BiP. At first, she said she had some tea that suggested that Natasha and Pieper were friends before the show, which made her wonder if Natasha was actually in on Pieper and Brendan's ruse the whole time. She later backtracked, admitting that her intel was faulty, but said she thought it might be possible that Natasha was manipulated by producers into playing along with Brendan. I'm not sure I believe her theory, but she is definitely correct in noting the producers' roles in all of this.
Andrew Spencer — Team Bach Nation
Andrew Spencer watched Bachelor in Paradise with Justin Glaze, and while they had some fun debating whether or not Brendan was feeling the pressure from Natasha during their confrontation, it's his Twitter commentary that was more interesting. After watching Brendan and Pieper dish about Instagram followers, Andrew accused them of giving "everyone in bachelor nation a bad rep." And he's not wrong.
As Bachelor in Paradise continues to break the forth wall, fans become more disenchanted with the franchise's basic premise: that people go to find love. And once hope for that possibility is gone, I'm not sure the show will survive. What's the point of watching people pretend to fall in love when you can watch Big Brother or Survivor instead?
Read more...
Clues Brendan & Pieper Are Together After Bachelor In Paradise
Is Bachelor In Paradise A Place For Redemption?
Image: Blake Horstmann/Instagram; Justin Glaze/Instagram; Ashley Iaconetti Haibon/Instagram