Bachelor in Paradise star Chris Conran has addressed the dramatic scenario that forced him and Alana Milne to walk away from the summer spinoff series.
Chris was in a relatively good position when he first arrived on the island. He took Jessenia Cruz on a date and swayed her from her relationship with Ivan Hall.
However, everything changed for Chris once he dumped Jessenia for newcomer Alana Milne during the most recent episode.
He received plenty of backlash from both Bachelor Nation and his costars when he got hot and heavy with Alana and dumped Jessenia, all during the first night Alana arrived.
The cast accused Chris and Alana of starting a relationship ahead of the show, much like Pieper James and Brendan Morais, and using the show as a fame boost.
Chris has now addressed all of that and more in his Instagram story.
Chris apologized to Jessenia for how he dumped her on Bachelor in Paradise
Chris admitted that he handled his breakup with Jessenia poorly.
“I take complete accountability for my blatant disrespect towards Jessenia,” he wrote in his apology message.
He also shared that he reached out to Jessenia and apologized after filming wrapped.
He expressed that the whole situation forced him to reflect on himself and seek out help.
“I’ve been doing work privately to work through my relationship & communication skills,” he wrote. “I’m an awful communicator and I’m an extremely non-confrontational person. It’s something I’ve needed to fix and am glad it’s been brought to light.”
He also claimed he’s now a long way from how he behaved on the show.
Chris Conran denies claims that he and Alana Milne dated prior to Bachelor in Paradise
While Chris apologized to Jessenia, he still refuted claims that he and Alana were dating prior to filming Bachelor in Paradise.
He firmly stated, “I was by no means in a relationship prior to the show.”
He then further explained the nature of his dynamic with both Alana and Jessenia ahead of the summer spinoff series.
“I hung out with both Alana and Jessenia in a group setting,” he revealed. “I met both of them and had the same preshow relationship prior to Paradise. Flirty, and excited to potentially see them in Paradise.”
He then went on to share how his life has been impacted outside of the show and added that the bullying he’s experiencing outside of the show on top of the bullying he endured while on the show hurts.
“The hateful messages I’m receiving aren’t fun, and the way I was attacked and pushed out of Paradise sucked,” he stated while comparing his time on Paradise to being bullied by the “cool kids” in high school.
He also used his apology message to defend Alana. He expressed that the hate she received both on and off the show wasn’t cool as well.
Even called on the male contestants who silenced Alana during the fight to apologize.
He expressed that the franchise’s culture of “silencing women” needs to end.
In conclusion, he reiterated that he was sorry for how he treated Jessenia but not for being in a relationship prior to the show because, according to him, that simply isn’t true.
Bachelor in Paradise moves to Tuesday nights at 8/7c on ABC.