People aren't loving the 26-year-old's decision to play both sides of a love triangle.
Dean Unglert didn't exactly come off smelling like a rose on Monday's new Bachelor in Paradise.
The former Bachelorette suitor -- who recently vied for the heart of Rachel Lindsay -- has spent his time on the show talking pretty intimately with Kristina Schulman. However, on Monday's ep, the 26-year-old startup recruiter seemed to throw the brakes on their burgeoning romance when he sat down with the 24-year-old beauty to talk about taking a step back.
"I think it would be good for both of us to slow down a little bit," Dean said, as they laid together in a beach-side cabana. "And I give zero f**ks about the rose ceremony. Like, obviously I want to stay and I want to spend time with you, but like, I would rather tell you this now [so] you can make the decision that's best for yourself."
While Kristina didn't like hearing that Dean wanted to take things less seriously, it didn't stop her from presenting him with a rose during the season's first rose ceremony (which also saw four other guys get sent home).
However, the Dean/Kristina dynamic changed drastically when Danielle Lombard -- who was a fan favorite while competing for Nick Viall's heart on The Bachelor before getting surprisingly rejected -- arrived with a date card and her eye on Dean.
From the start, Kristina was noticeably unhappy with the development (and all the girls were annoyed with how the guys were fawning over Danielle from the moment she arrived).
"If Dean goes, I'll be pretty pissed off about it. Because that's not right," Kristina admitted. However, when Danielle asked Dean out on a date, he accepted the request right in front of Kristina -- and immediately, the tides turned against him in the eyes of all the other girls in the cast.
Dean was upfront with Kristina about their date, but said that he still cared about her. The pair seemed to be in a stable place after their honest chat, but the calm was short-lived.
After Dean and Danielle went on their ATV-riding date, he clearly couldn't make up his mind about his emotions because he continued to flirt heavily with both of his romantic interests.
"I don't know who Dean thinks he is at this point," fellow Paradise cast mate Alexis Waters reflected. "He's going to [Danielle], he's going to Kristina ... I'm like, 'You're a d**k.'"
In the end, Kristina was driven to tears, and a lot of other cast members couldn't help but get pissed off that Dean would treat her like that, especially after she gave him her rose.
Dean seemed to shrug off how upset she'd gotten, however, sharing, "Kristina lets her emotions get the best of her sometimes."
Could Dean's perceived duplicity cast a shadow over his chances of being the next Bachelor? He is among a number of possible candidates for the coveted position.
ET spoke with Dean after he was sent home from The Bachelorette, and he addressed the fan campaign to choose him as the next Bachelor, which he said it would be an "honor."
"I think it's something you have to address on a case-by-case basis," he added. "I think I have a lot of maturing I need to do myself, but I would never immediately say no to any opportunity. We'll see."
