Did a 'Bachelor in Paradise' producer really stay in a trunk for four hours?!
Wells Adams is opening up about that Paradise moment. On Monday's episode of Bachelor in Paradise, the beloved bartender shocked fans -- and several ladies on the beach -- when he hosted Wells' Storytime to explain the saga of Salley's suitcase.
"This is all I can say," Wells told ET the day after the episode aired. "This is what was told to us by that producer. Now, how much of that was true, I don't know. Was it 80 percent true? Was it 90 percent true? Was it all true, but just embellished a little bit? I'm not really sure."
The saga started when Lace discovered a suitcase with Salley's name in the girls' room, but there was no Salley to be found. After discussing the situation with Genevieve, Jill, Hunter and Sierra, they went to Wells for answers.
Wells explained that Salley "wanted a second shot at love" after leaving Clayton Echard's season of The Bachelor before night one to return to her ex-fiancé. While the show wanted to grant her that, they were "a little apprehensive," so they sent a producer to make sure she got on her flight.
With a Drunk History-style reenactment, fans watched the apparent saga unfold, in which the producer arrived to Salley's house, was informed via text that the would-be contestant had "explosive diarrhea," and then told by a man inside, "Salley ain't here."
Salley did eventually get in touch with the producer, and said that she wanted to go to Paradise, but had to talk to her ex first. When the producer and Salley got to the "freaking mansion" where the ex lived, Salley instructed the producer to get in the trunk, where she left the producer for four hours.
While Salley's ex told her that he no longer loved her and encouraged her to go to Paradise, Salley wasn't so sure. However, the next day, she committed to going to Mexico.
"They get her packed up. They get to the airport. They check in. Bags through security. They're at the gate. All of a sudden, producer looks back, Salley's on the phone with somebody, she's crying uncontrollably. She's on the phone with the freaking ex," Wells told the group. "... Producer gets on the plane, Salley does not get on the plane... Her bags are in Paradise because they were on the plane."
While some people called out the show on social media for "bullying" Salley with the saga, Wells, who also hosts Hulu's Best in Dough, urged viewers to consider how the information was presented to them.
"I think that the audience needs to remember, it's obviously tongue-in-cheek because of how we presented it to the audience," Wells told ET. "I saw some people on Twitter being like, 'This is bullying. This is mean.' We did a Drunk History reenactment of something. You can't take this too seriously."
During the episode, Wells told the ladies that Salley was planning to come to Paradise, though he was uncertain about the timeline. Whether or not Salley does make her way onto the beach, Wells is impressed by one thing about her.
"I'm amazed at how much we've talked about someone who's never been on this show," he marveled. "It's pretty impressive, if I'm being honest."
Season 1 of Best in Dough is now streaming on Hulu. Season 8 of Bachelor in Paradise airs Mondays and Tuesdays on ABC. Follow along with ET's coverage of the show to stay up-to-date on all the drama on the beach.
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