The tribe has spoken. Chris Conran and Alana Milne were voted off... I mean bullied off... I mean "chose" to leave Paradise. The verdict was that Chris and Alana were dating before Bachelor in Paradise, so they had to go. I know Riley's a lawyer and all, but he played judge, jury, and executioner along with Grocery Store Joe and the wronged party Jessenia. But are Chris and Alana Brendan and Pieper 2.0? Had they planned to date when they got to Paradise or is this a case of Bachelor Nation acquaintances gone all wrong?
Alana did not deny knowing Chris before she came to Paradise. They follow each other on Twitter and there's other social media evidence that they've spent time together, like the below photo posted by Bachelorette Katie Thurston.
It contains definitive proof that not only did Chris know Alana beforehand but also Jessenia. And it helps explain why Alana told Chris "shut up," when he introduced himself to her at Tituss Burgess's "tight-ass" party.
As Jessenia brought up on Tuesday's ep, there was a big Bachelor hang in San Diego in May 2021 where the members of this future BiP love triangle were in attendance.
Jessenia claimed that Alana "threw herself" at Chris in San Diego, which "wasn't a good look." Jessenia being displeased to see Alana at the VIP BiP party is in contrast to how buddy-buddy they seemed during the trip in the snaps posted on social media. But alas, that's some Instagram vs. reality for you.
Since they obviously all knew each other, the question is — did Chris and Alana begin dating after San Diego and scheme to reconnect in Paradise? Clearly, Jessenia thinks they did. Not everyone who was on this Bach Nation San Diego trip have entered their verdict (Bachelorette Katie is smartly staying out of the fray). But here's what the people who are weighing in on the Alana and Chris drama have to say on the matter.
Tammy
While Tammy didn't condone Chris's behavior, she tweeted during Tuesday's episode that Chris hadn't dated Alana or Jessenia before coming to Paradise. She was on the San Diego trip and tweeted about Chris and Alana, "I know for a fact they did NOT have a pre-existing romantic relationship" stating that the trip was "all just friends."
Verdict: Not Dating
Marylynn Sienna
Marilynn Sienna was a contestant on Matt James's Bachelor season, who was eliminated in Week 2 alongside Alana. Like Tammy, she could "attest" that Chris and Alana were not dating. "We were all JUST friends! The accusation that they were is simply UNTRUE," she wrote in the above Instagram post defending her pal Alana.
Verdict: Not Dating
Brett Vergara
Brett Vergara hasn't appeared on the Bachelor franchise, but he's something of an expert as he live tweets about the show and has entered Bach Nation's social sphere. As he was on the San Diego trip too, he was having a grand time on Twitter on Tuesday night. Yet, while he knows what happened on the trip, he's not spilling the tea now that he no longer has a Bachelor podcast.
Verdict: Pleads the fifth
Anna
Anna (probably best-known for starting those escort rumors on Matt's season) took to her Instagram Story to make a joke along the lines of "what happens in San Diego stays in San Diego" — referencing her post at the time of the trip. Although her next Story did state that Alana is a "great girl," she did not definitively say if there had been a romance between Alana and Chris.
Verdict: Pleads the fifth
Casandra
Casandra was eliminated in Week 1 of Matt's season, but she was in San Diego and wrote in her IG Story about Alana, "This girl doesn't deserve a single ounce of hate." If she doesn't deserve the hate, I'm going to assume that means that Alana hadn't plotted with Chris.
Verdict: Not Guilty?
Sydney
Another early departee of Matt's season was Sydney. She was in San Diego and also wrote that Alana "did not deserve" what happened on BiP in her Stories. Again, reading between the lines, does that mean she thinks Alana is innocent?
Verdict: Not Guilty?
Chasen
"It's wild how TV can spin things," fellow Smoke Bro Chasen wrote about Chris on his IG Story. But he doesn't state that Chris didn't date Alana.
Verdict: Guilty?
Alana
Since Jessenia had the opportunity to defend herself from people saying she knew Chris before (she updated the caption on an Instagram post from San Diego to clarify that they had "0 relationship before Paradise or this trip"), what does Alana have to say for herself? "I didn't have a plan or a pre existing relationship with Chris going into Paradise," Alana wrote in her IG story. "I came on the show with pure intentions." That's pretty straightforward.
Verdict: Not Guilty
Chris
As for Chris, he said a few things during the episode that denied he had been in a relationship with Alana, like "I'm not gonna sit here and say that we had something going." He hasn't made an official statement on his guilt or innocence since the episode aired. But in his Stories, he did share Blake Horstmann calling out the hypocrisy of the BiP contestants yelling at him and Alana while letting Brendan and Pieper be. Is that an admission of guilt because Brendan and Pieper were actually dating beforehand and planned to meet up on Paradise? Eh, can't say for sure. But what's certain is that the BiP tribe is going to turn on Brendan and Pieper next.
Read more...
Can Brendan & Pieper Be Sent Home From Bachelor In Paradise? An Investigation Of The "Rules"
Did Jessenia & Chris C. Know Each Other Before Bachelor In Paradise?
Bachelor Alums React To The Brendan-Pieper-Natasha Drama On Paradise
Image: Craig Sjodin/ABC, ABC