Katie Thurston Enters Bachelor in Paradise and Causes a Shift in Blake Moynes and Jess Girod’s Relationship

Thursday Bachelor in Paradise opened with Olivia Lewis feeling like things might finally get going on the beach as Michael Barbour asked her out.

Olivia (24) didn’t even care that she didn’t know his name.

Meanwhile, Kat Izzo and John Henry Spurlock continued to get to know each other and cuddle on the bed.

“I didn’t navigate Paradise the best possible way,” said 27-year-old Kat in an on-camera interview. “I know I could have hurt other people’s feelings.”

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Then Jordan Vandergriff from Rachel Recchia’s season Bachelor and Taylor Pegg from Charity Lawson’s season arrived. Jordan, who was sent home by Rachel after getting the first one-on-one of her season, pulled the former Bachelorette, 27, as soon as he arrived.

“You’re not mad at me?” Rachel asked Jordan, 28, and Jordan said he wasn’t mad.

Rachel admitted on camera that she always wondered “what if?” about Jordan. “I honestly want to go on a date,” she added.

Luckily for her, Jordan got a date card and asked her out. They met during a tantric yoga class.

On the beach, Aaron Bryant asked Eliza Isichei to be his girlfriend, and she said yes.

“It gives commitment,” Eliza, 27, said in a confessional interview.

Bartender Wells Adams dug through the Truth Box and pulled out several messages about Peter Cappi shaving his legs, which Peter, 33, denied. Wells, 39, also revealed a message to Tyler Norris which read: “Everyone knows you’re not that into Mercedes. Better admit it because she deserves the truth.”

After hearing this, Mercedes Northup told Kylee Russell and Aven Jones that she felt “like neither of us were really vulnerable — we were both going.”

Aven, 30, encouraged Mercedes, 25, to “push” Tyler, 27, “a little bit more”.

‘Bachelor in Paradise’ stars Tyler Norris and Mercedes Northup.

ABC

When Mercedes spoke to Tyler, she asked him if he felt that his failed relationship with Brittany Galvin since last summer played a role in why he held off on her. He seemed ambivalent about it, and also claimed to maintain a long-distance relationship afterward Paradise wouldn’t be a problem either.

“I’ve traveled long distances a few times,” Tyler Mercedes said. “I’ve seen it work with people.”

Mercedes left the conversation thinking “he’s not on the same page as me.”

Aven told Mercedes, “I don’t think distance is something he wants to do.”

MULTIPLE RELATIONS TAKE THE NEXT STEPS

Aven and Kylee, 25, went on a double date with Peter and Sam Picca, during which both couples cemented their place.

“I would love nothing more to make the rest of mine Paradise our Paradise”, said Peter Sam, 34.

Sam replied, “I think you know I feel exactly the same way.”

Aven told Kylee “I’m falling in love with you” and she expressed the same sentiment to him.

Jess Girod and Blake Moynes tried to play Frisbee on the beach when his ex-fiancée Katie Thurston arrived.

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“I don’t think Blake will be happy that I’m here,” Katie, 32, told host Jesse Palmer.

Blake, 32, said “oh my fucking God” when he saw Katie walk in but agreed to speak to her for the first time since their split in October 2021.

“I sent you a bunch of voice recordings,” Katie told Blake. “I don’t know if you even listened to them.”

Blake admitted that he had obeyed them.

“There were six different voice notes and I remember them all pretty clearly,” he said. “I could feel the emotion in those voice notes, but I was also super angry at the time, so I didn’t want to respond. After things happened, you were in a relationship. I wasn’t overly excited about it. It was a bit of a dagger.”

Katie said she wanted to give Blake his space after their breakup and apologized. “I’m sorry things turned out the way they did,” she told him.

Seeing Katie again brought back positive memories of their relationship for Blake. “I can’t think about us right now because I remember how real it was in that moment and during that time and it blows my mind,” he said. “So I just don’t think about it.”

The longer Katie and Blake talked, the more upset Jess (24) got.

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“I just want to be in love and happy,” Rachel cried. Jess also revealed that she brought an “engagement dress” to Mexico.

When Katie returned to the group, she informed them that she would not be joining the dating group, but instead would be hosting a roast for the cast. So the swimmers joined together to prepare the material.

Aven made an impression on Rachel; Aaron, 30, blasted John Henry, 31, for not being able to tell a “red flag from a homie hopper,” referring to Kat; Jess was made fun of for her age and more people took a dig at Tyler and Mercedes’ relationship. “It’s getting messy and I don’t like it,” Mercedes said in an on-camera interview.

‘Bachelor in Paradise’ star Rachel Recchia.

Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty

Rachel cried after the roast because she thought Tanner Courtado didn’t like her anymore even though they decided to continue their relationship, and the jokes prompted Blake to talk to Jess about the future of their relationship.

“I feel like I’ve really felt what love is here,” Blake Jess said. “And I feel like we’re not getting there at all.”

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Bachelor in Paradise airs Thursdays at 9pm ET on ABC.

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Source: HIS Education