Deandra Kanu recapped the Tuesday, September 27, premiere of Bachelor in Paradise on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast — giving the scoop on what it’s like when you arrive in Mexico.
“Being the first on the beach is so nerve-wracking and then you’re there for the entire day. I don’t think people understand how hot it is in Mexico. It’s so humid. Being there No. 1 on the beach and then until the last person comes out — I’m like, ‘Oh, honey, the end of the day your hair’s all gone,’” the Bachelor season 24 alum begins when discussing Serene Russell’s arrival.
Deandra agreed that people who arrive in the first batch of episodes are “set up for the most success” on the series — to an extent.
“But also, it can be the most stressful because then you’re forced to, like, find something really quick. We saw a couple of the people stressing out about making connections day one,” she says. “But then it’s, like, day two, you’re the fresh meat or day three and everyone’s kind of like, ‘Ooh, I like that.’ You know, you’ve had a day to kind of sift through who you want and who you don’t want.”
While diving into the day one connections, Deandra expresses frustrations about contestants who don’t appear open to dating more than one person.
“I have so much to say about people choosing one person they want and just sticking with them. Because seeing that on my season, I was like, ‘We need to be a little more open, let’s be open,’” she says, noting that she does “love assertion” but thinks the cast needs to make an effort to “try to get to know everybody a little bit.”
Romeo Alexander found himself drawing a line in the sand and declaring he wanted to get to know Jill Chin after Kira Mengistu also expressed interest. (The trio had a history pre-show, with Romeo saying he messed things up with Jill when he kissed Kira in a club.)
“Kira, I don’t know what she had going on on the beach, but I genuinely felt bad for her — to be a woman and put yourself out there and go after a man? That’s already hard enough in my opinion,” Deandra says. “So it’s, like, her putting herself out there to try to even get to know Romeo and it’s day one and he’s like, ‘I don’t want to get to know you at all, like, I don’t even want to have this conversation.’ It’s the first day! That wasn’t cool in my eyes.”
She continues: “Regardless of what you had before the beach, it’s like, just have a freaking conversation [with Kira]. Just let the girl come and talk to you. Even if it’s 15 minutes, 20 minutes, like, suck it up, and then go hang out with Jill. You know, I don’t know what [Jill] had going on with Romeo. I personally don’t think that Jill likes Romeo. I wasn’t getting the body language that was giving, ‘I want to be with you.’ And then the stare after the kiss!”
Bachelor in Paradise airs on ABC Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Scroll through for more from Deandra:
