Contrary to the belief of a reality-TV cynic, Bachelor in Paradise has quite a decent track record of engagements and legitimate relationships when the cameras stop rolling outside the constraints a single strip of a Mexican beach. Did its sixth season fare any differently? Well, it’s not too shabby! Of the four couples who decided to go to the “fantasy suites†in the finale on Tuesday evening, three persisted into the real world, and a few other duos are also happily pursing a future with each other. As a convenient BiP recap of everything that happened between the main couples, here’s what you need to know. Oh, and also, that windmill-sex guy is the new Bachelor lead.
Dean and Caelynn
Status before leaving the show: They decided to leave on their own terms earlier this season, after Dean unexpectedly returned to apologize and affirm his love for Caelynn. He initiated their departure.
Status after the show: They’re still together, and all over Instagram with their #vanlife goals. “I’m surprised but I actually love it!†Caelynn said about living full-time in a vehicle. Check her Insta if you’re still skeptical.
John Paul Jones and Tayshia
Status before leaving the show: Tayshia broke up with John Paul Jones before the fantasy suites. It was brutal. Everyone was crying.
Status after the show: Cue the awes, they’re back together! With a camera crew in tow, Tayshia flew to Maryland to win her boo back, after coming to the realization that her feelings ran much, much deeper than she realized. “We had a whirlwind romance, and I think it took me by surprise,†Tayshia told Chris Harrison before the reunion footage was shown. “When he told me he loved me, those were words that I don’t throw around lightly. I wasn’t ready for that. I thought the right thing to do was just to let him go … I talked to my mom about it and I decided I wanted to go after him. I’m a bold girl.†JPJ, unsurprisingly, took her back immediately, and confirmed they’re still dating: “Look at my girlfriend, isn’t she hot?!â€
Chris and Katie
Status before leaving the show: Engaged.
Status after the show: Technically speaking, yes. But not too happily, if we’re being honest. Katie initially appeared without her ring at the reunion, and admitted she felt consistently neglected by Chris since they left the beach. “We’re still engaged,†she assured viewers. “I just put in so much effort every day and I love him so much, but I put in so much that my tank empties and if I’m not getting it filled, I break down. The whole time at the beach he would tell others that he loves me and the only way I knew Chris loves me is the way he tells everyone else, not the way he shows me. I love him, but I can’t speak as to how he makes me feel and the things he said and the things he did seemed so different. I fell in love with potential that may never come to fruition, but I’m just praying it does.†Katie eventually put her ring back on, after this assurance from Chris: “My family loves you, my friends love you, and I love you. I do and I think there’s so many more better days ahead of us and I want to see those days, I really do.â€
Clay and Nicole
Status before leaving the show: This was a pretty bad breakup, y’all. After Nicole declared her full, undivided love for Clay, he said he wasn’t prepared to initiate any next relationship milestone. “I’m not there yet,†he explained. “Having those feelings, it’s not easy for me and it’s scary. But I know one thing — that I’m starting to fall in love with you. I’m not ready to move in together or get down on one knee right now, but I know what I want and that’s for us to take things slow and to leave here together.†Nicole, specifically wanting a proposal, proceeded to dump his ass on the spot: “I have to do what’s best for me right now. And I can’t tell people that we’re together knowing that you don’t love me back.â€
Status after the show: We’re assuming these two are still totally, completely dunzo. Neither of them, in a pretty uncharacteristic move for BiP, were present at the reunion show. Angela must be thrilled.
Demi and Kristian
Status before leaving the show: Engaged! As the franchise’s first same-sex couple, Demi initiated the proposal to Kristian. “I know that this has been really hard. I’ve put you through struggles and you were always there for me regardless of how much I didn’t deserve it at the time,†Demi said before she proposed. “I never knew that someone could be that patient. There were a lot of things that came between us, mostly myself and my own struggles. Like you said, I came here to find myself. But I found myself in you.â€
Status after the show: Still engaged! Neil Lane also gave Kristian a blinged-out ring so she could propose to Demi at the reunion show, too. “I know that last day in Paradise was the best day of my life and I wouldn’t want to do this life with anyone but you,†Kristian told her.
Dylan and Hannah
Status before leaving the show: Engaged, obviously. “I didn’t come here to spend my summer with you, I came here to spend my life with you,†Dylan told her during the proposal. “And I’m ready for that life to start now.â€
Status after the show: Still engaged, obviously.