One couple left the beach together on Tuesday night's episode of 'Bachelor in Paradise.'
The singles are teaming up to get those with bad intentions off of the beach. On Tuesday's episode of Bachelor in Paradise, one couple said goodbye and another exchanged those three special words, and ET is breaking it all down in the recap below.
With everyone still reeling from the Chris drama in the previous episode, this week's drama kicked off with the hope of getting other similarly intentioned people to leave Mexico.
The group successfully did just that, and one woman got a second chance rose. While that second chance didn't exactly pan out, a new arrival to the beach made one woman's "vagina dance," and the beach's strongest couple took a giant step in their relationship.
Keep reading for a full recap of episode eight of Bachelor in Paradise.
The Ousting of Couple No. 2
After Chris and Alana were ousted from the beach, Natasha was left wondering why the same couldn't be said for Brendan and Pieper, who behaved in a way that Demi considered "way worse." (Brendan has since apologized for his actions, and Pieper has released a statement.)
Brendan and Pieper initially seemed unbothered about the chatter surrounding them, with the latter even stating of Natasha, "You win some, you f**king lose some."
Natasha expressed her frustrations to other cast members, earning the support of Deandra, Joe, Maurissa and more. The group, led by Joe, went to talk to Brendan and Pieper, and the former was quick to defend himself.
"It’s not like, 'Hey Pieper, do you want to be my girlfriend? Hey Pieper, are we exclusive or not?' That never happened in any way," Brendan said. "I was hopeful that she was coming. I liked Pieper before the show. Natasha and I, we had a certain connection that was void of any romance. I tried to get there."
Brendan insisted that he "never promised" Natasha anything, before sarcastically telling the group, "I know you guys wrote the rule book of relationships and also Paradise, but…"
That earned him a "f**k off" from Demi, but Pieper was undeterred, readily admitting, "I couldn’t be more clear that I came here to be with Brendan. I didn’t realize that there was a rule book I didn’t read that said you couldn’t come here with the intention of meeting somebody. I had the intention to meet him. Meet him, explore this relationship more."
Natasha told the pair that the whole thing was "completely awful," and Brendan decided to remove himself from the situation. As Brendan and Pieper walked away, he complained in a confessional about "Joe and his mob of disgruntled females."
"If Natasha wants to talk for the 17th time about the relationship that we had, we can talk some more, but I think it’s just a pathetic attempt to intimidate me," he said, before telling Pieper that Natasha is "salty" and had "zero chance of actually having a relationship with any guy that had been here."
As for the accusations that they went into Paradise hoping to get more followers, Pieper admitted to Brendan, "Obviously I’m excited about the future possibility of making more money, but I would’ve got there on my own. I have an entire masters degree in marketing. I think I can figure out how to get a few more followers."
Pieper also expressed that she didn't know why their situation was "taboo," before punching Brendan lightly and chastising, "I told you I didn’t want to come. I told you."
After telling Pieper, "What one would come here for is to find what I think I have with you," Brendan announced to the group that he and his girl had decided to leave Paradise.
"This environment, I guess, isn’t where we want to be at this particular moment. I think you all know, and I’m well aware of, this is the girl I want to be with. I know that," he said. "I appreciate all of you guys, but I’m going to leave with her, and we’re going to do that on our own terms. Take care, guys."
Natasha felt "glad" about the news, and Brendan and Pieper remained in good spirts, laughing as they got in a car.
"I didn’t intentionally want to mislead anyone. I just withheld information," Brendan said. "Whatever.”
A Surprising Rose
With Brendan and Pieper gone, the rest of the cocktail party was able to get underway. Maurissa set up champagne, strawberries, chocolate syrup and whipped cream for a date with Riley. After they spent time licking whipped cream off of each other, they went to the Boom Boom Room.
"That’s the best chocolate sundae I ever had," Maurissa said after the fact.
Elsewhere, James and Tia began to hit it off, as birthday girl Tammy approached Thomas to find out where they stood after his date with Becca. Tammy told Thomas he was her "best friend" and said that she could see him fitting into her life, but he didn't return the sentiment.
"I had feelings for someone else last night and I didn’t feel guilty about it," Thomas said of Becca, before Tammy responded by asking what she can do to change his mind.
"I’m trying to picture if we’d be able to go the long run outside of here," he said. "I’m at a point right now where I need to risk the short-term comfort of what we’ve had for a potential long-term future. Things just feel a little more stable elsewhere."
While Thomas said he didn't want to "hurt" Tammy, she told him that he was doing just that, and expressed anger at herself for not listening to Aaron's warnings about him.
"I trusted you with everything, and now I feel like a fool for trusting you," she said. "… I don’t trust anybody in this world. It’s very hard for people to gain my trust. I trusted you because you reassured me. Everyone told me. I believed you."
In a sobbing confessional, Tammy said, "I gave him everything. And it’s on my birthday. That’s even worse! Last year I got COVID on my birthday and this is 10 times worse."
As the rose ceremony rolled around, Natasha was sure she'd be leaving. Master of Ceremonies Wells Adams saved the day, though, when he offered her a rose for "a second shot at love."
Natasha was grateful for the chance, as it's one Tammy, Demi, Jessenia and Deandra did not receive.
"I’m so angry at myself. I feel so betrayed. I feel so stupid. I feel like an idiot. I came here to find a connection deeper than I ever have before, and I did, but it was all a lie," Tammy said as she exited Paradise. "Everyone told me and I was so stupid. I followed my heart. My heart lies. This is the worst birthday ever."
"It sucks. This is extremely embarrassing," Demi said upon her departure. "Paradise is magical, and I wasted so much time with Kenny. It hurts so bad. I’m so frustrated… I’m so pissed."
When the last woman without a rose left, new guest host Lil Jon arrived and promised to "start testing these connections."
Tia Feels Her 'Vagina Dance'
The first of the new arrivals was Blake Monar from Clare Crawley's season of The Bachelorette. Tia was immediately interested in Blake and referred to him as "tatty daddy."
After chats with Tia and Natasha, Blake invited the former on his date, much to James' dismay. The pair dashed out to go four wheeling, and Tia admitted in a confessional that Blake was "the one person" she'd been hoping to meet in Paradise. They hit it off and exchanged compliments, before sharing a kiss.
"There was a spark there. When I’m feeling it, I’m feeling it. If it doesn’t make your vagina dance it’s not worth it… I’m feeling my vagina dance. There’s a little dance happening," Tia said. "… I’m ovulating right now and if there was any way to get pregnant without the traditional method, I would be pregnant right now. Make out. Pregnant. Done."
Also on the baby-making track was Kenny and Mari, who became one of Paradise's strongest couples after their reconciliation.
"I know things change every day, but I feel like we’re leaving here together," Kenny told Mari, a statement with which she agreed. The pair headed off to the Boom Boom Room after that, as Kenny admitted in a confessional that he'd "never felt this way about someone before."
"I came into Paradise wanting to find my person, the person I’m supposed to be with. Obviously, I knew Kenny was hot. I knew I was attracted to him. Obviously, there’s a lot of physical chemistry between the two of us," Mari said. "But just seeing how he’s slowly but surely been more expressive about his feelings and opened up to me, he’s shown me lots of different sides of him."
Natasha's Ill-Fated Second Shot
Natasha's second chance at love seemed to be off to a good start when Dr. Joe Park, who previously appeared on Clare and Tayshia Adams' season, arrived.
The duo appeared to hit it off and complimented each other over their "energy." After she accepted the date and he gave a toast in Spanish, things took a turn when he asked about her Paradise experience thus far, as he and Brendan are good friends.
After Natasha revealed that Brendan nearly "ruined" her time in Paradise, he said in a confessional that he was in "shock" with the news, and things got visibly awkward.
"What will be will be," Dr. Joe said, in an apparent attempt to avoid taking sides. Natasha was quick to take the hint, and despite thinking her date was "great," she knew it was "over" between them.
"It just sucks. I just feel like there’s a Brendan cloud over me," she said. "At this point, how could any of this get any worse?"
Paradise's First I Love Yous
There was no trouble in Paradise for Serena and Joe, though, as they continued to marvel at their ever-growing connection.
"I like Joe. It’s rare for me to want to be around someone all of the time, but I just like being around him every day," Serena said. "I’m not ready to say the l-word, but I’m definitely getting there a lot faster than I thought I would."
Serena admitted to being "afraid" to tell Joe her feelings, but she got past her fears when he set up a romantic date for her and said, "I'm into you, OK?"
"I'm falling in love with you," Serena told him moments later. Joe concurred, telling Serena, "I think I'm falling love with you, too."
"Really?! No way! Oh my god!" Serena exclaimed, before sharing a kiss with Joe and gushing over her "giddy" feelings in a confessional.
Kendall witnessed the whole thing go down, and struggled with her inability to "shut off" her past feelings for Joe.
"The spark I felt when Joe and I first met, it’s not something you feel every day. It happened here," Kendall said of Paradise. "... Joe and I were at a point where we were talking about the forever. I like to think I’ve healed from that. Of course I tried to move on… I was hoping to come here and create new memories with new people, but it just feels like that’s an impossible fantasy."
'I'm About to Turn This Place Upside Down'
Next week's episode will pick up with Kendall's continued downward spiral, as she tells Joe through sobs, "I never stopped loving you... This is the hardest thing I’ve ever been through and it just keeps going."
"I see how upset she is, but I’m feeling things for Serena," Joe says in a confessional.
While Kendall will face hard moments next week, Kenny and Mari will tell each other that they're "falling in love," and Maurissa and Riley will do the same.
Lil Jon promises to "turn this place upside," though, and appears to do that with two new arrivals, one of whom catches Maurissa's eye.
"I'm not going down without a fight," Riley insists.
While Natasha makes out with another new man, things get intimate between Ivan and Chelsea. Aaron doesn't appreciate Ivan's interest in Chelsea, whom he'd gone out on a date with, and threatens, "I’m going to slap that stupid beard off his face."
The men get in each other's face, but another storm is brewing nearby as Wells tells the group, "There’s a dangerous tropical storm approaching. It’s heading straight for us. We need to start evacuating right now."
The news is a shock to the cast, with Tia stating, "Earlier today I was stressed about who I was going to give my rose to, but now I’m stressed about being alive."
As the group is packed into cars to be whisked away from Paradise, one girl declares "What the f**k," as another admits, "I’m so scared."
The next episode of Bachelor in Paradise will air Tuesday, Sept. 21, on ABC. Check out all of ET's coverage for the latest drama on the beach.
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