The 'BIP' favorites tell ET why their engagement has ended.
Bachelor in Paradise couple Grant Kemp and Lace Morris have gone their separate ways. The pair's engagement was revealed on the BIP season finale on Sept. 6, but ET has learned that, just days ago, Morris moved out of their San Francisco home. The two had not yet begun planning a wedding, and both tell ET they’ve ended on good terms.
“It really was mutual,” Morris says. “We both have our issues we need to work on, and we can’t really give each other what we need at this time. It’s just not the right timing. We have so much love for each other, and it’s weird because the chemistry is there, and I’m thinking, ‘Why can’t we make this work?’ But it’s just not possible right now.”
Kemp and Morris connected early on in Paradise and were known as one of the show’s most passionate couples. They got tattoos of their names combined, the word ‘Grace,’ on their wrists, and frequently showed off their love on Instagram, even posting about each other earlier this month.
“For a month, we were kind of starting to bicker, and it was a thing of, something’s got to give,” Morris explains. “It was a cycle we couldn’t break…I think he’s an amazing man. I’m super sad that it ended, but I know it’s for the best right now.”
Kemp agrees, adding that he has “a lot of respect” for Morris. “She’s a great person,” he tells ET. “There were things we were trying to work on that we expected to get better with time, and unfortunately it kind of went the opposite way.”
Morris, who first appeared in Bachelor Nation as a contestant on Ben Higgins’ season of The Bachelor, has been open about trying to improve herself as a person. She even voluntarily left The Bachelor for that reason. “This [relationship] has been one of my biggest tests,” she reveals. “I just started working on myself right before Paradise, so I really haven’t had much time to do it. This was kind of an eye-opener. I still have more to work on.” To that end, she’ll soon launch a blog called ‘The Lovely Lace’ and continue sharing her journey.
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The two admit extreme circumstances tested their relationship. “When you’re in a regular relationship there’s already challenges you face,” Kemp says. “We did everything backwards.” Yet, both are open to returning to reality TV. “I don’t regret any of the choices I made,” he shares. “I don’t regret going on the show…It kind of fast-forwarded our whole situation. We figured everything out now that it takes most people a couple years to figure out.”
Still, Kemp and Morris had their ups and downs on Paradise, so, will they ever reconcile? “I think the odds are definitely against us,” he says. “But I know the person that she is. That’s the person I wanted to marry.” For now, they’re staying friends, but keeping a distance in the wake of the split.
“I could only pray or hope that there is a future with us,” says Morris, who has already moved back to Denver. “I see one, but I just don’t know when. Now I have to take it day by day and fix my issues, he can fix his. … But I pray we’d have a future, because we had something really special.”