Clay Totally Still Has Feelings for Angela on ‘Bachelor in Paradise’
Because she’s been there and done that, literally, former Bachelor contestant/tear fountain Ashley Iaconetti is recapping this season of Bachelor in Paradise for Cosmopolitan. With insider insight as well as a clear eye for what’s going down both in front of and behind the cameras, read on for her thoughts.
This post contains spoilers for last night’s episode of Bachelor in Paradise.
Wait a second, does Clay still have feelings for Angela? I really didn’t think he did, even throughout Monday’s episode, but the amount that he spoke about feeling weird watching her date maybe me rethink things. Tayshia caught the first red flag: the fact he didn’t tell Angela about Nicole being his girlfriend. Still, I waved that away thinking that he was just naive in assuming Angela wouldn’t be joining BIP and he didn’t need to hurt her feelings further. I figured that since he broke up with her and went to BIP, he’d be okay with her dating, even in front of him. I was wrong.
Based on the conversation Angela and Clay had in Tuesday’s episode, I have a theory (not insider knowledge) that he felt responsible for taking care of the family he and Angela would have together, financially. This year Clay’s career in the NFL concluded, and while he wasn’t playing the past couple years, I think he realized he'd never thought of a career outside football. He may have broken up with Angela out of insecurity of being unable to provide for the life she imagined for herself.
Angela did say that he broke up with her because he felt he was in a place in his life where he needed to find himself. That could have included finding another career he felt passionate about. If he did break up with her out of insecurity, it would make sense why he, the “breakup initiator,” is having a hard time watching her move on.
But wait, we need to talk about Blake and Kristina! Do you buy Blake’s sudden feelings for Kristina? I like that even Krsitina is so hesitant to believe it. Obviously, based on my own love story, I understand the lovers-turned-friends-turned-lovers effect. But is this genuinely one of those tales? Before this sudden realization, I couldn’t tell whether or not Blake wanted to stay in Paradise. My best deduction is that he wanted to go home but wanted to leave on a higher note.
I think the best way to find out whether or not Blake was hamming up his feelings for Kristina is to see the status of their relationship off the show...if it even lasts to that point. I do think Blake is coming out of the darkness. Even though everyone knows how much he’s played around in the year between The Bachelorette and BIP, I’ve started to remember Blake as the deeply emotional, hopeless romantic from Becca’s season. Let’s see where this goes. If anything, it’s entertaining to watch because he’s a flawed character looking for redemption and she’s so spicy.
Okay, so Derek and John Paul Jones had the same argument three times. All three times it was as entertaining, though, because JPJ continued to be the most immature arguer in history. Like I said last week, it’s possible Derek did say something behind the scenes that warranted JPJ’s anger, but that doesn’t even matter at this point because he handled this whole situation so poorly. JPJ didn’t help himself any with the Haley situation. Haley called out JPJ for being sleazy and Demi’s facial expressions throughout it all were fantastic.
I’m surprised some fans are disappointed in Tayshia because she didn’t interfere in their arguments. It wasn’t so much that they were fighting over her, it was more like JPJ attacking Derek’s character over what appears to be jealousy. Sure, maybe she could have told the guys the fighting was turning her off. She let Derek go because she didn’t have strong enough feelings for him. She was honest. What did you want her to do, force it? It’s easy to feel sympathy for Derek, but it’s no one’s fault he didn’t leave with a happily ever after.
It was Derek’s choice to go home. He knew it was too late in the game to develop something worthwhile. I don’t even know why the producers send more people in at this point. As lovely as they are, Bree, Luke S., and Matt Donald’s entrances won’t rattle the strong couples and it’s too late for any relationship that forms between these newbies to develop into something serious. It’s pretty much engagement or bust on BIP.
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