Meanwhile, a contestant decides to leave the spin-off series of ABC's dating competition show 'The Bachelor' after being confronted about having a boyfriend back at home.
- Aug 24, 2021
AceShowbiz - "Bachelor in Paradise" arrived with a new episode on Monday, August 23. The second episode of season 7 saw Demi Burnett shaking things up upon her arrival at the beach, saying that she would "steal all their men."
For her one-on-one date, Demi picked Brendan Morais, much to Natasha Parker's dismay. "Brendon's going on date, and I really could have used today to spend more time with him," Natasha, who had been developing a connection with Brendan, said.
She went on to say, "I mean you're in 'Paradise', you want to hang out with the person that you're building a connection with. I'm feeling like I need a little alone time, because that won't make me feel good, making someone else worry about how I'm feeling."
Meanwhile, Demi and Brendan sealed their fun-filled jet ski date with a passionate kiss. Demi then admitted to Brendan that she was "crushing so hard" on him and that she wanted to "explore and grow" with him.
In response to the confession, Brendan told her, "I think you're amazing and you're beautiful and I had an amazing time with you." He continued, "But I obviously talked to other girls and formed certain things with other girls. And so it's like, we're going to talk to other people, go on other dates and really see if our paths cross again along this journey."
It was clear that Demi was taken aback. After feeling rejected, Demi revealed in a confessional that she was "confused" and "pissed the f**k off" by what Brendan said. Upon arriving back on the beach, Demi told the other girls that her date with Brendan was "amazing," until she felt "rejected" by Brendan. She also called him "a player."
After the girls told Demi about Brendan's connection to Pieper James from Matt James' "The Bachelor" season prior to "BiP", she confronted Brendan about the matter. "Everyone's telling me now that, like, you have a relationship with someone else, Pieper. ... I just wish you were more honest with me about that," Demi said. To that, Brendan replied, "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. ... There's no relationship."
After a back-and-forth, Brendan left and talked with Natasha, who asked him how the date went. He told Natasha that Demi didn't "set [his] soul on fire," adding, "I would use this opportunity if it's you, if it's someone else or if it's Pieper to get to know each other more on a deeper level. My relationship with Pieper has just been super casual."
He continued, "I've had deeper conversations with you than I had with Pieper, and I don't have anything more to say than that. Like, I really, really like spending time with you and I think you're a sweetheart and you seem to be a lot of fun. And I have the strongest connection with you." They then strolled along the beach and Demi couldn't help but cry when she saw them.
The second date card was for Jessenia Cruz and she chose Ivan Hall. They enjoyed an intimate date in which Jessenia said to Ivan, "I feel safe here. I feel safe with you. It's like I know that I can share my heart with you and not feel insecure about it. Like, it just comes naturally. I don't even feel like it's forced. So, I'm very happy that I came because I feel that I definitely would have regretted it, for sure."
Ivan responded, "I think we have the rose ceremony coming up tomorrow. You obviously know I definitely do like you, and I would definitely be giving you my rose, obviously. So you don't have anything to worry about. I want to continue this."
Meanwhile, Victoria P. and James Bonsall had been bonding throughout the episode until Tammy Ly decided to tell James that Victoria allegedly had a boyfriend back at home. "She has a boyfriend who's like an aspiring country singer back at home, and she was with him literally Thursday. And they share a dog together," she told James. "I feel like you deserve to know, because I want you to find a connection like me and Aaron [Clancy] have a connection, and this is not a genuine connection. I am just looking out for you."
When James asked Victoria about her alleged secret relationship, the latter denied it vehemently. After confronting Kelsey Weier and Tammy, Victoria told James that she would leave the show. "I walked into this, regardless of what anyone else may say, like, 100 percent open," she said. "And I think the best thing for me to do is to take all of me and perfect me, growing me and walk away from this. I hope that you walk away from this with the love of your life."
It was then time for the first Rose Ceremony. Kelsey had a panic attack before James gave out his rose. He chose to present his rose to Demi, meaning that Kelsey, Serena Chew and Victoria Larson were subsequently sent home.
