Even though it has been two long years since our last season of Paradise, there's one storyline, nay, drama that will never escape my mind. The Stagecoach Saga of 2019. It all centered around Blake Hortsmann and followed his situationships with Tayshia, Kristina, and Caelynn, and even a little Hannah G. It was messy and great.

I only bring this all up to say that just a few short years ago, Blake got dragged through the mud for hooking up with people pre-Paradise, but now it seems like the norm. Don't get me wrong, this was not a good look for Blake, but hookups seem to be expected with former contestants flaunting that they are partying together all over Instagram. And now there are rumors that people could even be full-on dating and still go to Paradise.

Specifically, I am talking about Brendan and Pieper. I follow the fan pages, I've read the conspiracies theories, I've seen the TikToks, and now we need to figure out just how this timeline looks.

Here's everything we know:

Spoilers ahead.

• Way back in late April, @Bachelornation.scoop posted this picture of Brendan and Pieper together in NYC...

• On June 4, an article came out that the pair were dating. A source told US Weekly that,"either he’ll fly to New York and hang with her, or she’ll fly to Boston to hang with him. She was most recently in Boston over Memorial Day weekend and they were even spotted out in public together..."
• Just a few weeks later, on June 16, Reality Steve said that both Brendan and Pieper were going to Paradise. Brendan is in the original cast of 279 people, and Pieper is a late arrival. Supposedly, Brendan gives a rose out prior to Pieper coming down the stairs. Scandal!
• On June 30, Reality Steve states that the pair end up getting a lot of heat for the rumors of them dating before and that it becomes a big storyline, causing the pair to leave together before overnights.
• On August 11, @deuxmoi posts that they were spotted in NYC.

Which brings us to premiere night. Now, this can only go down one of two ways: 1) They lie and say that they weren't dating and were just "friends" or 2) They own up to it. I assume with all the details I have so far they'll go with Option 2 but say they weren't "exclusive" pre-Paradise.

Either way, whoever gets that first impression rose from Brendan is bound to be pissed. Let's all pray the blonde from the original trailer isn't Victoria Larson for Pieper's sake. Or maybe we pray that it is her for ours? Either way, get out the popcorn because we are in for a wild ride.

Image: ABC