Before the beach! Andrew Spencer and Teddi Wright couldn’t stop gushing about each other before Bachelor in Paradise.
The pro football player made his Bachelor Nation debut during Katie Thurston‘s season of The Bachelorette in 2021, while the surgical unit nurse appeared on Clayton Echard‘s season of The Bachelor earlier this year.
Though the duo didn’t meet in person ahead of Bachelor in Paradise filming in summer 2022, they sparked dating rumors as early as March. The speculation began in part after Andrew’s cousin Clay Harbor tweeted about Teddi while watching The Bachelor in January.
“Sooo Teddy [sic] I have this cousin,” wrote the former NFL player, who appeared on Becca Kufrin‘s season of The Bachelorette in 2018 and season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise the following year.
Teddi was an early front-runner during her time on The Bachelor, receiving Clayton’s first impression rose in the season premiere, but their relationship fizzled out before hometowns. “I was not expecting that tonight,” the California native said in a confessional interview after elimination, admitting that she thought she might be The One for Clayton. “It sounded like it was me from our last conversation. … I do want to be someone’s first choice, and I deserve that.”
Andrew, for his part, finished Katie’s season in fifth place. The former bank marketing manager eliminated the Austria native ahead of hometowns, then asked him to come back after he left her a note telling her he’d be waiting if she changed her mind.
When Katie did ask him to return, however, Andrew decided to walk away. “I want my future wife to choose me,” he told the cameras.
The Bachelorette alum later told Us Weekly that he didn’t regret leaving, but it was still hard to say goodbye to Katie. “I didn’t expect her to be sprinting down the stairs, like a rom-com and completely suck the wind out of my lungs, making my heart sink,” he said in July 2021. “Definitely a moment I’ll cherish forever. One of the things I love most is moments that really take your breath away. And that was definitely one of those moments.”
Katie, for her part, admitted that Andrew’s exit was “really tough” for her. “There was a part of me that wanted him to stay,” she told Us in July 2021. “And maybe if hometowns weren’t so soon, I would have just made that happen. But with the hometowns coming up, I just knew ultimately it wasn’t the best decision for both him and I.”
Season 8 of Bachelor in Paradise premieres on ABC Tuesday, September 27, at 8 p.m. ET.
Keep scrolling for everything Andrew and Teddi said about each other before Bachelor in Paradise.
