Who wants to get engaged on Bachelor in Paradise?
During BIP 3, Lace & Grant, Josh & Amanda, and Evan & Carly, all got engaged on the beaches of Mexico, twelve or so days after meeting each other and dating. An insane premise, made normal by reality television, and the amplified, over-glorified exposure they get in front of the camera, played up for the fans, the setting being the most beautiful dates one could imagine. Evan & Carly are now married, shipped Evanly, and they seem like a great match, a couple who actually loves each other.
Why did Lace & Grant get married? For fame obviously. They were two fringe characters from the franchise. Lace was the “I’m not crazy” girl who was totally crazy on Ben’s season of the Bachelor, while Grant was the good looking guy with a stick like personality. They each wanted to be known as something bigger than that, they drank all day, got tattoos with the name “Grace” on their wrists before getting engaged, then lasted all of a few months before splitting. It made too much sense, these people weren’t meant for each other, but they definitely each wanted to get engaged on television, gain a following, and become “ship goals”, parting ways whenever it got too rough or felt right.
What were the repercussions of splitting? Nothing. What was the benefit? They definitely gained a ton of followers, got some money, got sponsors, got exposure, and when they split, people still followed them and now they were able to explore new adventures. They can also possibly reappear on a new Bachelor show or another series. I will say that Grant being caught dating immediately after the split was a bad look, and gave Lace the break-up win.
What about Amanda Stanton and Josh Murray? This is the example of two people within a franchise being too big, or at least their relationship being too big. Amanda has a staggering 1.1 million followers on Instagram, while resident shithead, Josh Murray, maintains a giant 667k follower total. That may mean nothing to you, but they were pulling in reports of 20k+ dollars a month in revenue from social media ads and sponsorships, They were getting paid a HEALTHY living to be together. If I could post social media ads everyday and get back 2000 dollars a year, I’d totally do it, hell, I’d do it multiple times a day. What broke them apart? Josh being an abusive asshole.
Though if he wasn’t like that, and Amanda had gotten a more normal human being as a partner, she continues this lifestyle, gets an ABC wedding worth a ton of money, and licks all the gravy off the plate while she can.
Look at Jade & Tanner, they were the BIP couple who got married, and are now pregnant. Their names seeps into almost every Bachelor related product these days. On BIP 3, their names were always made a point, people wanted to be the next Janner. The couple even appeared on season 3. From there, they also showed up on shows like Marriage Boot Camp, and were mentioned to no end during the first few episodes of Nick’s Bachelor season.
What does that make Carly & Evan? You can tell these two were into the fame part of the show. Evan’s ex wife accused him of it, and Carly showed up on two paradises, and endlessly shilled products on her Instagram, especially sugar bear hair. However, these two actually enjoy each other’s presence, they like the chill lifestyle of the show, they enjoy vacationing, and they’ve rode out all the best stuff of the franchise. I really hope they stick together.
Paradise is a great way to get exposure, getting the engagement puts you on the map, and makes you a Bachelor It Couple. One that gets followed by the franchise after your season. For the low tier stars looking to get their chance at a fame, it will be interesting to see who gets engaged. I can imagine Raven, Danielle L, or Danielle M, being the girls who get engaged, and I could see a girl like Sarah Vendal making the push for relevance, I can’t wait to see what happens.
