The penultimate episode of the season was chock-full of drama.
Paradise is winding down, but the drama is only ramping up. Tuesday's episode of Bachelor in Paradise saw a fan-favorite make a big mistake, new arrivals shoot their shot, and the breakup of an unexpected couple, all of which ET is breaking down in the recap below.
Ivan and Aaron were still mid-argument at the start of the episode, before Ivan was put in the hot seat by guest host Wells Adams about his off-camera behavior.
A new match, a rejected date, and a renewed connection all followed, before the group donned their best '80s looks for Paradise Prom, a dance that ended in heartbreak for one of the strongest couples on the beach.
Keep reading for a full recap of episode 10 of Bachelor in Paradise.
Ivan's Caught in a Lie
Aaron began the episode angrily, as he continued to get in Ivan's face over his decision to make out with Chelsea, after his promise that he wasn't going rose hunting before the ceremony.
While Aaron was "at a loss" over Ivan's behavior, Ivan seemed self-assured as he called his new foe "a kid." When the confrontation started up again, Ivan claimed that Chelsea was the one who approached him.
Riley stood up for Ivan, as did many others gathered around the circle, leaving Aaron feeling hurt and confused. When Chelsea made her way back down to the beach, though, she revealed that Ivan had been the one to ask her to chat, not the other way around.
On a mission to "get to the bottom" of the situation, Chelsea approached Ivan, who denied telling the others that she was the one who asked him to talk.
"I definitely pulled you," Ivan told Chelsea, contradicting his previous statement to the group. "I said, 'Chelsea had an interest in me that I did not know was there.'"
Chelsea didn't believe Ivan, calling him "an opportunist," while Aaron was left thinking that his former pal was "off his rocker" with his integrity "lacking considerably."
Ivan's Off-Camera Rendezvous
Aaron's negative feelings escalated when Wells delayed the rose ceremony to chat with Ivan about something that happened when the group was staying at a hotel, sheltering from a dangerous storm.
As the group looked on curiously and out of earshot, Ivan relayed his hotel actions to Wells.
"Last night at the hotel, I was really in a place where I was kind of feeling lost here, in Paradise," Ivan began. "I was honestly feeling lost. I had no connections. I didn’t know where to go, really."
"Last night, I spent time with Alexa at the hotel. Alexa, she was on Peter [Weber]’s season of The Bachelor, I was just hoping that she was going to be brought down here at some point, 'cause that’s what I’ve been hoping for since the beginning," he continued. "We’ve never met up. I was genuinely excited to meet her, and actually just get to talk to her. I thought I was going to be going home, I wanted to meet her, and so I just did it."
As for who he pulled off the clandestine meeting, Ivan explained, "There was a phone in my room, a producer’s phone, it was just there. It was literally the first thing on the screen, I didn’t go searching for anything, it was a screenshot of the room numbers and stuff."
After finding Alexa's name and room number, Ivan said he "made a real quick impulse decision" to go talk to her, and they happened to "hit it off."
"It was wrong of me. I shouldn’t have gone around the system," Ivan said. "My mind was just in a weird place, and I was wrong. Love makes you do weird, crazy things. I made a mistake and it was a giant mistake."
In a confessional, a crying Ivan said he "came here with the purest intentions to leave with somebody," before heading back to tell the group what he'd done.
He told his peers the whole story, noting that he and Alexa spent "a few hours" together, and apologizing to everyone, specifically Chelsea, for his actions, before making his exit.
"I just feel like I let a lot of people down in the way things ended here," Ivan said on his way out of Paradise. "… I was being selfish when I went to go meet Alexa. I hate that I put a sour note on the rose ceremony. I don’t want anyone to feel bad for me at all. I made a choice and I have to own that choice. I’m going to continue to think about this and regret it. I’ll live with this for the rest of my life."
After Ivan left, the rose ceremony commenced. The members of committed couples handed out their roses as expected, while Chelsea opted for Aaron over Demar, Natasha for Ed over Dr. Joe, and Tia for James over Blake.
James Gives Love Another Try
Anna from Matt James' season of The Bachelor made her Paradise debut the next day. After learning that both Kenny and Thomas would turn down a date invitation due to their current relationships, Anna asked James to accompany her.
Tia was less than pleased when James accepted Anna's date card, but both of the date attendees were "excited" for their adventure. The outing ended up being rather unexpected, as James and Anna were prompted to make themselves into churros by rolling around in cinnamon sugar and getting coated in chocolate sauce.
After rolling around in the food, James and Anna showered together and were next treated to a snake massage. The reptile massage was followed by a makeout session in a hot tub, that left both James and Anna with hearts in their eyes.
James said he saw "serious potential" in Anna, whom he's "really attracted to," while Anna admitted to feeling "butterflies" around her new crush.
Aaron Says No to a Date
Mykenna from Peter's season of The Bachelor was the next arrival, and she was quickly shut down for a date by Thomas and Riley. Her hopes were raised when she chatted with Aaron, and decided to ask him on a date.
Aaron's response to Mykenna's offer was "Yeah, let's chat real quick," which left everyone, including Mykenna, confused. Once they were alone, Aaron explained that he had "a hard week" and wouldn’t "be able to put myself completely there for you on the date," noting that "it wouldn’t really be fair to take that from you and someone else."
Mykenna called his refusal "a bummer," and was left crying on the beach over the embarrassment. When Ed realized Mykenna was crying, he went down to talk to her and said he'd "love to go out" with her.
She initially refused, telling him that the "timing's not right" and that she wanted to go home. He persisted, though, questioning, "What’s one more go-around? One try? One night? If you hate it, go home then. You can’t fly out tonight anyways. What are you going to do?"
Mykenna eventually accepted the date, as Ed assured her, "Even if we hate each other, we’re going to have fun."
The chivalrous act was anything but to Natasha, who was bummed to see yet another guy she was interested in opt for someone else. Still, Mykenna and Ed headed off on their date, and proceeded to have fun rollerblading together.
"Maybe I didn’t see him at first, but I see him now. I’m happy to be on this date with him," Mykenna said in a confessional, before getting a kiss from her date. "I’m glad I’m on this date. He’s just a good guy, and I feel like that’s what I’ve been missing."
Mari and Kenny Clean Their Energies
Amid the drama with Ivan and the new arrivals, Mari had been concerned over Kenny's mood. When they sat down to chat, Kenny confessed that he "got a weird feeling the last two nights" because Mari "sort of backed off a little bit."
"If we’re going to get engaged, we both have to be pretty sure of where we’re at, and I just still feel like you’re not sure," Kenny told Mari. "Early on it was really passionate, and I felt like, all of the sudden the last few days, that’s not there anymore. I just don’t want to get in over our heads, thinking we’re in a place we’re not."
Mari said in a confessional that she felt "blindsided" by Kenny's reveal, as she was certain that she didn't want to be with anyone else but him. Mari's uncertainty eventually led her to invite a woman on the beach, who was tasked with helping her and Kenny "connect spiritually."
The ceremony appeared to do just that, as Kenny told Mari that they were "meant to somehow meet here," and she confessed that she "wasn’t expecting to come here and fall in love with someone, but it’s happening."
"I don’t take it lightly," Mari assured Kenny. "… I think this is really working for both of us and I’m really happy."
After sharing a kiss with Kenny, Mari was more secure in her relationship than ever. "I have found what I’m looking for," she said in a confessional. "With Kenny I’m all in and I’m excited about it. I’ve never felt this before."
Like Mari and Kenny, Serena and Joe's connection only continued to grow, as they discussed how they planned to travel between Canada and the U.S. following the conclusion of Paradise.
A Prom to Remember
All of the happy couples were delighted to learn that they'd get to celebrate their love at an '80s-themed prom, and guys including Joe, Thomas, Riley and Kenny even asked their girls to attend with promposals.
Tia, though, was left crying and feeling "single as f**k," because, with Natasha sick in bed, she was the only person who wasn't paired up.
Likewise, Chelsea was disappointed by Aaron's lack of initiative in asking her out and spending time with her. That annoyance only grew when Aaron grabbed Tia to chat at the dance. Aaron offered Tia his corsage and the pair made out, before making their way back to the dance floor where a confused Chelsea looked on.
"He f**ked my prom," Chelsea complained. "Lame."
Amid all the drama, Wells handed out awards to some of the contestants, with Kenny nabbing Biggest Flirt, Maurissa winning Best Kisser, and Abigail and Noah being named the Most Likely to Live Happily Ever After. Prom King and Queen, meanwhile, went to Joe and Serena.
Happily Ever After Ends Sooner Than Expected
While the whole group was rooting for Abigail and Noah, the couple themselves had been struggling throughout the episode. In fact, Noah had told Abigail he was falling in love with her, and she did not respond.
Though Abigail considered being named the Most Likely to Live Happily Ever After, the "validation" she needed in her relationship, and despite her plans to tell Noah she was falling in love, too, Noah saw things differently.
"It’d be a disservice to have this feeling in my gut of this is not the right choice, and then continue on," he said in a confessional. "… I think 'Maybe it could work out,' but then I have that gut feeling of 'This is not your person.' You can love somebody but not be in love with them. I care for Abigail, but I feel like I know what I need to do now."
A crying Noah pulled Abigail to share his decision, stating, "I’ve been trying to force something that I want, when deep down I know that I’ve not found my person."
"I have these feelings for this girl and she’s perfect in all these ways, but I don’t know if she’s perfect for me," he said. "… It’s a feeling I had early on that I tried to ignore, because there’s potential there, but it never went away like I kind of just assumed it would. At the end of the day, I think what’s holding me back is I don’t know if I’ll be able to get to where I want to be."
Abigail was stunned by Noah's confession, telling him, "I don’t think I’ve been this blindsided before. You go from telling someone you’re falling in love with them the night before to this conversation. You were the one that constantly said, 'I’m not going to say anything that I don’t mean. I don’t want to make false promises.' But you ultimately ended up doing that."
As Noah told Abigail that he'd "lost sleep" over this, Abigail took off her corsage and told him, "You’ve been pushing me to try to get to your level, but you’ve obviously had this gut feeling for longer than 24 hours… You still chose to say that to me. Of course I’m going to be hurt and feel like I was lied to."
While Noah insisted he didn't lie, instead claiming that his declaration of feelings was fighting his "gut instinct," she walked away and locked herself crying in the bathroom.
"None of this makes sense," she said in a confessional.
'When You Think You've Seen It All, Think Again'
Tears abound in the preview for the three-hour-long season finale, with both Abigail and Serena crying. Becca will go through a lot, too, as she tells Thomas, "I’m having this internal battle. I feel like you’re too good to be true."
Amid kisses from Mari and Kenny, and declarations of love from Joe and Serena, Anna cries and Maurissa says, "It’s definitely scary. We’re literally dropping like flies."
Maurissa may find herself in that category, as Riley tells her, "I’ve been thinking over and over, is this something we want to continue?"
Serena, too, can't be without worry, as Kendall arrives back at the beach apparently in search of Joe, who seems to be preparing to propose to his new Paradise love.
"When you think you’ve seen it all," Lil Jon says in a voice over, "think again."
The three-hour-long season finale of Bachelor in Paradise will air Tuesday, Oct. 5, on ABC. Check out all of ET's coverage for the latest drama on the beach.
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