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Everything Brendan & Pieper Have Said About The 'BIP' Drama Suggests They Don't Give AF

ByOlivia Truffaut-WongSep. 14, 2021

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UPDATE: On Tuesday, Sept. 14 episode, Pieper and Brandon eliminated themselves from the beach. After the cast confronted them about their previous relationship, the couple had no choice but to send themselves packing. And on Tuesday night, Pieper spoke out on Instagram again to clear some things up, but it's still patently clear that she has #noregrets. See her story below at the bottom of the timeline.

EARLIER: Now that Bachelor in Paradise has gone full Survivor, Brendan and Pieper better be ready to fight to remain on the beach. The most hotly debated couple of Season 7 is definitely going to be confronted about their scheming ways, though whether or not they'll actually feel any shame and leave (like Chris and Alana last week) is another story. In preparation for the big showdown that's likely going to go down, here's everything Brendan and Pieper have said about their BiP drama.

Monday, Sept. 6 — Day Of The Episode

After Pieper's debut episode aired, it looked like the duo wasn't going to be commenting on all the controversy surrounding them — specifically how they may have schemed to end up in Paradise together for Instagram clout, and used Natasha to do it. Instead, perhaps anticipating the drama, they each made Instagram posts playing into their new "villain" roles. Mere hours before the episode aired on Monday, Sept. 6, Brandon shared a selfie with the caption, "Here for the wrong reasons," while Pieper shared a post captioned "All's fair in love and war." Clearly, they had zero regrets.

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Natasha called out the posts on the night of the episode, retweeting a fan who commented on "the level of disrespect," but Pieper and Brendan appeared to have no regrets where Natasha was concerned. In fact, in her first official post-BiP statement, Pieper didn't mention Natasha at all.

Tuesday, Sept. 7 — Day After The Episode

Image: Pieper James/Instagram

"Just a gentle reminder that reality tv isn't real. An edited, produced, and cut down show isn't going to show you ever single thing said and done," Pieper wrote in an Instagram Story statement Tuesday, Sept. 7, choosing to respond to the speculation about her and Brendan's relationship without mentioning Natasha.

As you can imagine, dismiss the conversation as a production manipulation and blaming editing for her actions did not go over well with fans or Natasha. Yes, a lot of Bachelor drama is produced, but no one made her say what she said about Natasha or gaining followers. As fellow Paradisian Deandra said on Instagram, "There is no green screen manipulation to your mouth." Unsurprisingly, Pieper's half-hearted statement didn't stop her from loosing thousands of followers on Instagram. And, over the next few days, both she and Brendan saw their Instagram follower count plummet. According to Bachelor Data, Brendan lost over 50,000 followers in the first 24 hours alone.

Wednesday, Sept. 8 — 2 Days After The Episode

Image: Brendan Morais/Instagram

The hemorrhaging of followers got so bad that, on Wednesday, Sept. 8, Brendan finally took down his "Here for the wrong reasons" post (Pieper quietly deleted her caption instead) and issued an apology on his Instagram Stories. "After taking time to begin to process the events that unfolded over the past few days, I have realized I was wrong on so many different levels," he wrote in his statement. Noting that he deleted his post, the BiP star added that he was "insensitive" and wanted to apologize to Natasha. "I hurt you. I am deeply sorry for doing so," he said, adding that "a full statement and apology" would be forthcoming.

I'm guessing we'll be getting an apology after Brendan and Pieper's love story plays out on BiP, but as we wait, one thing we can clearly see from this statement is that Brendan only just learned that what he did was messed up. He posted this over 48 hours after his mic'd conversation with Pieper aired, so if you're hoping he actually expresses any kind of genuine remorse on BiP, you might wanna rethink your expectations.

Thursday, Sept. 9 — 3 Days After The Episode

Pieper, meanwhile has tried to keep the blow-up to a minimum, choosing not to release any kind of Instagram statement or apology. Instead, she gave a quote to Us Weekly on Thursday, Sept. 9, claiming that she was sorry to have hurt someone, but also that Natasha totally knew about her thing with Brendan before Paradise. "I had a friendship with Natasha before the show and had spoken to her about me and Brendan talking," she claimed. "With that said I am truly sorry for any hurt that I caused her and hope that I get the opportunity to speak to her soon and make things right." OK, girl, suuuure. (Natasha confirmed that she and Pieper had met once in a group setting on her Click Bait podcast, but denied knowing about Pieper and Brendan's relationship prior to Paradise.)

She also tried to distance herself from the Brendan and Natasha situation, saying, "I'm not an extension of Brendan and his actions, and I don't condone dishonest behavior."

So... I guess her "thanks for playing the game" comment was her way of stating her disapproval then?

Friday, Sept. 10 — 4 Days After The Episode

Speaking to Us Weekly the next day at an event, Pieper said she has no regrets about what went down on the beach. "It is what it is, and it happened. I honestly try not to live with regrets," she said, adding that she did still want to apologize to Natasha personally.

I'm sure Brendan and Pieper will have more to say as the BiP season continues. The question is, will it be enough for them to win back the fans' trust?