Kelley Flanagan recapped the Tuesday, September 28, episode of Bachelor in Paradise on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast — and she’s team Ivan Hall!
The Bachelorette season 16 alum left Mexico during Tuesday’s episode after Wells Adams confronted him for sneaking out of his hotel room when the cast was forced to evacuate the beach during a storm. According to Ivan, he discovered Bachelor season 24 alum Alexa Caves was quarantined at the hotel after a producer’s phone was left unlocked. Ivan subsequently went to see Alexa, who was seemingly expected to arrive in Paradise at a later date.
“I actually know Ivan well and I know [his roommate] Noah [Erb] well, I started crying laughing when Noah was like, ‘I went to bed,’” Kelley began on the Wednesday, September 29, episode of the “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast. “I applaud [Noah] for not ratting out in any way, but I was dying laughing. … I was texting both of them last night, giving them s—t. I was like, ‘Guys, what are you doing?’ But with Ivan, it’s almost like you can’t blame him and I’ll tell you why because those producers are so strict with their phones. They don’t let you just play with their phones. They don’t just happen to leave a phone around. I personally think — whether it was a mistake or not — I personally think that it was almost planted there, especially because he did say that the first thing when he saw the phone was just all the room [numbers]. If it was, like, a phone and it had text messages on it or the home screen or something, like, OK, one thing, but when you look at the phone and it’s blatantly everyone’s rooms, you gotta think that that was planted a little bit.”
The lawyer added, “Hey genius on their idea, it worked clearly. If that was intentional, you know, it worked, if not, then who knows.”
During the episode, Ivan apologized to the cast — including Chelsea Vaughn, whose rose he was seemingly pursuing — and left before the rose ceremony.
“He knew the girl that he liked was there and he just went for it,” Kelley continued. “It’s almost kind of, like, think about when you’re sneaking out in middle school and you just get super excited. You’re like, ‘Oh, my God.’ That’s kind of how [it’s like] being on the show. Cause there’s so many rules, so many restrictions that when you do something little, you feel like such a badass. So I’m sure Ivan was like, ‘Let’s go for it.’ I don’t think too many people are judging him on that one though. I don’t think there’s too much backlash.”
Ivan has since hinted that there’s more to the story when it comes to his drama with Alexa, who never arrived on the beach during Tuesday’s episode. MyKenna Dorn and Anna Redman, however, did arrive during the final days of filming.
“I feel very bad for MyKenna. I’m very close with MyKenna and she was so excited to go on Paradise, like, this was her dream come true type of thing,” Kelley told Us. “She was amped, she was pumped. And then to know that, you know, they essentially hold you in quarantine for so long just to be put out there the last week where everyone has connections. I really felt for her ‘cause it’s, like, she had zero options going in there. She handled herself great, to be honest. I think she did a great job. I just feel bad because, you know, I think a lot of people, her expectations were high and she just got so disappointed with her experience.”
Sign up for Us Weekly's free, daily newsletter and never miss breaking news or exclusive stories about your favorite celebrities, TV shows and more!
For a complete recap from Kelley and a game of Bachelor Regrets, listen to Wednesday’s episode of the “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast.