Bachelor in Paradise Season 9: Shark watch

Welcome back to the beach, Bachelor Nation! On the surface, it’s all about getting sun-drunk on love and leaving the season engaged to a fellow star from the Bachelor universe. But while the forecast is sunny, a red flag watch is in place and our reality lifeguards have issued a few alerts for Bach-goers: expect patches of shade, the occasional emotional tornado, and some shark sightings. So let’s test the waters before we dive in.

Stream The Bachelor in Paradise Season 9, exclusively on Showmax. New episodes each Thursday.

Shade warning

Firefighter Aaron Schwartzman (The Bachelorette S20) was his season’s best talking head. He even poked fun at how Season 16 continent Yosef Aboardy whined and pouted to Clare the Bachelorette, so we know he’s a long-time fan. In his The Men Tell All episode, when Peter Cappio complained about the other guys bullying him, it was Aaron who exposed Peter’s “pity party” and lame claims to fame, and demanded the tape rollback to expose how “fake” Peter was being.

Now…guess who else is in this season? If you guessed Peter, you win your Bachelor lifeguard badge. PS: don’t get Aaron confused with fellow Peter-hating Paradise contestant Will Urena, who had his own beef with Peter Izzo in The Bachelorette Season 18 after he called Peter a narcissist. Love that drama? You’ll love a new Bachelor in Paradise twist this season: cast confessions in The Truth Box.

Beach baggage

Look who’s schlepping a metaphorical beach chair, a coolbox, three bags, a picnic hamper, and two umbrellas. We have an overpacker alert. Rachel Recchia has one of the ultimate Bachelor storylines: getting double-dumped with Gabby Windey in Clayton Echard’s notorious triple-dipping “Rose Ceremony from hell” in Season 26, starring alongside Gabby as co-Bachelorettes in Season 19 only to catch her man kissing someone else, and popping up in The Bachelor in Paradise Season 8 with the scoop on the guys.

Now she’s back for more. Girl, the arm strain from carrying the weight of our expectations!

Shark spotting

Was Paradise’s Kat Izzo really the villain of The Bachelor Season 27, or did the producers throw her in the shark tank? In her original season, Kat was singled out for kissing Bachelor Zach Shallcross right before he left for his date with Charity. Fellow Paradise contestant Brooklyn Willie called her “classless and selfish” for that at the time.

Kat got even more disapproval for not being keen on introducing Zach to her family because he was dating six other women. Now look out ladies, because Kat’s not in Paradise to make friends. This season we’ll see her latch on to one Bachelor until someone more attractive pops up. And when that doesn’t work out, look out for a ripple in the water because it’ll be Kat coming for your man.

PS: after filming her Paradise season, Kat posted an “excuse me” on her Instagram page claiming, “The unfiltered lens of reality TV, where vulnerability is both a strength and a struggle, it’s a reminder that as humans, we’re bound to make mistakes along this unpredictable journey.”

Shy swimmers

These are the folk who put one toe in the water and bolt. Sam Jeffries made a spectacular entrance on The Bachelor Season 26 involving a bikini, a portable bubble bath and champagne but apparently she took one look at Clayton, said “ugh” and eliminated herself. She’s joined by fellow early out Taylor Pegg, who got out of the limo with a GoPro camera aimed at Season 20 Bachelorette Charity Lawson so he could film their first meeting for the “future kids”. No rose for you, sir.

Also making us say “who?” is The Bachelor Season 27 flop Becca Serrano. Now they’re all looking for love again, but are they worth a second glance?

Red flags

In The Women Tell All episode of The Bachelor Season 27, Genevie Mayo led an important discussion about race-based microaggressions after Kylee Russell was called “aggressive” for trying to steal Bachelor Zach from Anastasia. And Greer Blitzer, who had been called out for defending a friend’s decision to post pictures of herself in blackface, apologised in the episode admitting, “My ignorance was racist…it’s not about the intent. It’s about the impact.”

Now Genevie, Kylee and Greer are back on the beach together and sharing a towel, so have we buried the hatchet, or is there glass in the ice cream?

Sneaker waves

In Paradise, Rachel Recchia can look forward to reuniting with Aven Jones, the guy she left The Bachelorette with after ditching cheating Tino in her After the Final Rose episode, only to awkwardly break up later. Bachelor fans certainly noticed when Aven enthusiastically liked all Kylee’s Instagram thirst traps!

And like Rachel, Blake Moynes lands on the beach with plenty of baggage. He was ousted from Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams’ guys in the Bachelorette Season 16, but went on to win Katie Thurston’s hand in The Bachelorette Season 17 only to break up three months later. Take notes and keep receipts, because we’ve heard that Katie might land in Paradise like a sneaker wave. When she does, we’ll be dying to compare their stories – especially since she wound up dating one of her other Bachelors, John Hersey. And will she be hosting the Paradise Roast? If crabs walk sideways!

It’s all happening in The Bachelor in Paradise Season 9, exclusively on Showmax. New episodes each Thursday.