‘Bachelor In Paradise’ Recap: A Revelation From Charity Threatens Aaron’s Connection With Eliza & Kat Makes Waves Moving On From Tanner’s Heartbreak

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Thursday’s episode of Bachelor in Paradise on ABC.

Everybody better brace for impact, because things are only getting more tense on Bachelor in Paradise.

Thursday’s episode picks up right where we left off, which in case you forgot entailed Kat having a breakdown about Tanner’s date with Davia. It’s the next morning, and everyone is waiting (impatiently) for Tanner to wake up and let Kat know where his head is at, one way or another.

Finally, Tanner graces everyone with his presence and, thankfully, he pulls Kat aside right away. She doesn’t even let him get a word in, though, and dives right into telling him about how she’s disappointed and hurt that he went on that date on her birthday. Tanner says he’s had a great time getting to know Kat, but he’s starting to realize that their personalities might not be properly aligned to survive outside of Paradise. His date with Davia went really well, and he wants to keep pursuing that connection.

But don’t get it twisted, this is a mutual decision. Kat assures Tanner she couldn’t care less and storms away ready to find a new man. She makes sure to tell the girls that he did not break up with her. Meanwhile, Tanner is rolling his eyes as he makes his way back over to the guys, where he says that Kat’s being pretty passive aggressive and he’s worried that whatever she’s saying will influence how all the women feel about him.

He is surely even more anxious once he hears them all loudly cheers as they yell, “F*ck men.”

There are a few other couples hitting a rough patch this week, including Jess and Blake. In the previous episode, Jess told Blake she wasn’t sure about him and he decided they might need some space. Well, she certainly starts to regret that pretty quickly when Genevie from Zach’s season arrives on the beach. She pulls Tyler and Blake, but it’s pretty clear that she’s vibing with Blake. It is not shocking when she asks him on a date.

To his credit, Blake chats with Jess before he goes. Jess admits she was the one who needed clarity and expressed wanting to explore her options, so she can’t penalize Blake for doing the same. Blake tells Jess that he wants to make sure that he gives Genevie a fair shot, since she doesn’t deserve to be caught in the middle of their mess. He also admits that Jess’ feelings the previous night made him feel a bit unwanted.

This makes Jess feel guilty. When Blake finally heads out on his date, Jess says she’s shocked he actually decided to go…even though it’s really not surprising at all.

Meanwhile, Kat is moving in on John Henry. She’s decided he’s the new man for her, and she doesn’t care that he and Olivia seem to be in a good spot. She spends the day vying for his attention and, to some degree, it works. As one might imagine, Olivia is not happy.

That isn’t the only drama Kat is stirring up this week, though. While in the bathroom, she tells Eliza that Charity had warned her to stay away from Aaron B. because of some messy drama with his ex girlfriend. Don’t expect the circumstances to become clear in this episode, because they absolutely do not. Eliza is stressed, but she trusts what Kat is saying. Olivia warns her that Kat seems to just want to bring everyone down, but Eliza can’t seem to shake the feeling that there might be some truth to what Kat is saying.

Two couples on the rocks isn’t nearly enough, apparently, because the producers send in another woman to shake things up yet again. Becca, who was on Zach’s season for one night only, is the latest contestant in Paradise, and as soon as she steps foot on the beach you can literally see all thoughts of Rachel vanish from Brayden’s head. He is totally smitten, and no one (even Rachel) is surprised when he goes on a date with her. He talks to Rachel before he leaves, and Rachel plays it off as if she’s fine. Spoiler: she is not fine.

Blake seems to be keeping his word about being present with Genevie on this date. The pair are kayaking off the shore, and they appear to be having a great time. It doesn’t take much time for them to seem pretty locked in on each other. So, when they start making out in the surf, it looks as though Jess may have a messy situation on her hands.

Or…maybe not. While Blake is away, Tyler takes his opportunity to slide in and comfort Jess. But wait. Isn’t Tyler seeing Mercedes? Well, yes. But, he says it’s still too early for him to have his sights set on just one woman, and he’s been eyeing Jess since day one. In a confessional during his date, Blake wonders what Jess is up to. I’m sure he wouldn’t actually want to know that she’s making out with Tyler on a daybed at that moment.

Brayden and Becca also hit it off pretty quickly on their date. They visit Cocina Tantrica, which, as you can imagine, is very sensual. They start off with a champagne toast where the host asks them to look into each other’s eyes, and before they know it they’re feeding each other oysters. Rachel might not know it yet, but it’s starting to look like she’s lost her man again.

Back on the beach, the drama feels never ending. Kat is still sliding in on John Henry, and Olivia is trying everything she can to stop it. She finally steals John Henry away and they have a chat about his connection with Kat. He says he’s not sure what he feels for her, but he knows Olivia is still his No. 1. He’s just exploring his options! They make out, Kat gets pissed. The cycle continues.

Eliza still hasn’t told Aaron about her conversation with Kat. So, he comes down to the beach that night ready to ask Eliza to be exclusive. Imagine his surprise when she hits him with these questions about his ex-girlfriend, who he was supposedly dating when he went on The Bachelorette. Aaron weaves a story together where he claimed to be dating another woman in August 2022, and they broke up because of “toxicity” in their relationship. Then he started seeing another woman on and off, but they ended things in January — after he was cast but before he went on the show. Eliza had only heard about one ex, so hearing Aaron throw a second into the mix confuses her even more.

If only Charity were here to clear things up…And just like that, there she is! The girls are ecstatic to see Charity on the beach, but the men are sick over it. Aaron thinks Charity might ruin his life, and none of the other men from her season are particularly thrilled that she might spill some tea about them either.

Charity pulls all the women away and asks for a rundown of what’s been going on. Kat says she’s making moves on John Henry, and Olivia butts in to let everyone know she’s his top priority. But Eliza means business. She pulls Charity away to ask her perspective on the situation, which Charity seems happy to share.

We’ll have to wait until next week to find out exactly what she says, though. Another episode, another cliffhanger.

Bachelor in Paradise airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC after The Golden Bachelor.