Don’t hold your breath if you want to see Katie Thurston hit the beach in Mexico this summer to film Bachelor in Paradise.
The rumor mill has been working overtime as we get closer to summer — and closer to filming arguably the most entertaining show in Bachelor Nation, Bachelor in Paradise.
Though new episodes won’t air until late summer/early fall, filming for the fun series usually starts soon after The Bachelorette starts to air, and we start to find out who the Bachelorette lead is sending home.
In the history of the show, the more popular “losers” from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette end up in Mexico, where they mingle with each other in hopes of making a love connection.
They’re forced to couple up, whether sparks are flying or not, in order to stay safe on the beach with their pals, and it’s never an easy ride.
As the weeks pass (in TV time), in real-time, it is literal days, and sometimes not even that long, new faces are added to the mix, forcing couples to test their connection or split and send someone home as new couples are formed.
It’s always fun to see who couples up and who splits from within Bachelor Nation when the pressure is on, and it seems like some really wanted to see Katie in the mix this year — something that probably isn’t going to happen.
Katie Thurston responds to rumors she’s joining Bachelor in Paradise cast
Katie Thurston is pretty polarizing when it comes to Bachelor Nation and how fans feel about her.
A lot of The Bachelorette viewers don’t really care for Katie. But even more love her for her unapologetic realness and her carefree attitude.
Naturally, many of those fans really wanted to see Katie head to Mexico this year. After all, she’s still single after breaking up with Blake Moynes and moving on quickly with John Hersey, another guy who was trying to win her heart during her season.
Katie and John obviously didn’t work out either, or we wouldn’t be speculating about whether she’ll be on Bachelor in Paradise, but now, she’s ending the rumors — and possibly starting some more in the meantime.
It all started with a simple little Q&A in Katie’s Instagram Stories where someone asked her about possibly showing up on Bachelor in Paradise.
Katie quickly shut that down, telling everyone, “There are enough leads going,” which now has us wondering which ones and how many are “enough.”
Now we have to speculate on which leads might be on Bachelor in Paradise
With Katie making it clear that she’s not joining BIP this summer — or not since she didn’t flat out say that she will not be there — we can’t help but wonder who will be. She was quite clear when she said that there are “enough leads going already.”
We remember a time when there were no leads. When Becca Kufrin showed up in Paradise a couple of summers ago, viewers were shook. After all, it was the Becca Kufrin, who was engaged to Blake Horstmann just mere months earlier.
But Becca found love, and now she and Thomas Jacobs are having a baby, so having leads head to the beach worked, at least in that instance.
So I’ll just come out and say it. If we’re having more The Bachelorette leads head to Mexico for Bachelor in Paradise, we want to see Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia back together again.
It’s no secret that Rachel’s bestie (and roommate) is Genevieve Parisi, and we’d love to see her back, too, though she isn’t a lead. We just want to see her there, and after the way things went down with Aaron Clancy, she deserves it.
If there’s another The Bachelorette lead, let it be Michelle Young. That would make for an exciting season.
When it comes to The Bachelor leads, we heard Pilot Pete is single again. There’s also a possibility that Clayton Echard could hit the beach, but not if we have our way and he reunites with Susie Evans. Seriously, fingers crossed for them to reconnect — but maybe they’re waiting for Mexico?
These are the possible leads for BIP as all the others are either married, in a relationship, or they’re possibly just too old. I mean, Chris Soules for BIP, anyone? He’s the only single Bachelor lead in the last decade.
As for the women, Tayshia Adams is also single — maybe. She teased a new relationship back in January, but little is known about it. It just seems weird to go from hosting The Bachelorette to hitting the beach to find love again. Stranger things have happened, though.
Bachelor in Paradise is currently on hiatus and returns this fall.