Allow me to be honest, Bachelor in Paradise fans. The past few seasons of the dating-show spin-off have not been must-see viewing for me. Maybe it was the fact that the last season premiered in late September, when summer—which Paradise was made for—was over. Or maybe it was the fact that I was just tired of seeing the same fame-hungry contestants arrive in Paradise with the boring goal of extending their five minutes of fame. So when ABC announced earlier this year that Paradise would return for its 10th installment this summer, I didn’t have much of a reaction.
But then, during the finale of The Bachelor in March, ABC announced a much-needed twist for the new season of Paradise: Not only would former fan favorites from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette be looking for love in a humid climate, but those from The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette would as well.
That, my friends, is the surprise announcement we needed.
The past two installments of the Golden franchise have been refreshingly fun and topical, and if I were to formally keep track of your feedback, it’d be clear you also enjoy it way more than regular seasons of The Bachelor/ette. So adding in The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette contestants to Bachelor in Paradise? It’s a no-brainer.Of course, with that said, it’s still a bit up in the air how the whole concept will work. Will the Golden ladies and gents date the decades-younger Bachelor/ette contestants? (Probably not, but ABC has not yet said.) Will the Golden contestants have air-conditioned rooms, unlike their counterparts? (I would hope so, but you never know.) Will enough Golden contestants be willing to go? (Again, I hope so—but so many of them are now coupled up with significant others.)
Which Golden Bachelor/ette contestants are coming?
On May 12, The Golden Bachelor’s Leslie Fhima (who was the runner-up on Gerry’s inaugural season) and The Golden Bachelorette’s Gary Levingston (who courted Joan on her season) were announced. On June 16, ABC announced eight more singles.
The most exciting news? April Kirkwood, the firecracker therapist from Gerry’s season of The Golden Bachelor, will be headed to the beach, along with fan favorite Kathy “Zip It” Swarts. If you’ll remember, April and Kathy were part of the ASKN ladies (April, Susan, Kathy, and Nancy), but that foursome soon became three (Susan, Kathy, and Nancy) postshow, and we never really found out what happened with April. Well, now it looks like we’ll get our chance. Maybe it’s nothing, maybe it’s something, but either way, Kathy’s and April’s castings are exactly what I needed.
And in the newest trailer (scroll down below), April can be seen in tears, Gary and Natascha seem to hit it off, and Kathy promises to fall in love at least once—maybe even two or three times, in fact.
