Others were staying open-minded, and one man managed to score the most desired woman on the beach after spending most of his time sulking on the daybed.
It was all go in the first episode, and the teaser certainly suggests more drama is to come.
All The Arrivals
As would be expected in Bachelor In Paradise, it begins with a whole group of people descending the beach stairs to grab a drink from Wells Adams and get their flirty chat on with their co-stars.
Abigail was first to head onto the beach, and soon enough many others joined.
There were initial sparks flying with Abigail and Noah, while Joe and Ivan set their sights on Serena P, who was interested in model Brendan.
As more people arrived, couples started to form as individuals were pulled for conversations on daybeds, had drinks in the tiki bar or frolicked in the sea.
Guest host David Spade was on hand to greet them, though he was not too hands-on when it came to 40-year-old Kenny, who arrived completely naked.
He caught the attention of Mari, who wasn’t fazed by the beach’s new “member.”
The one paradise-dweller who caused quite a stir was Karl, whose antics on The Bachelorette meant even his fellow men turned on him.
He quickly stirred disharmony with Tahzjuan, and left the men avoiding eye contact whenever he walked by.
Queen Victoria attempted to bring some drama having now evolved into a sun goddess, however the boys weren’t so interested as it seems Serena P is the Queen Bee of this particular hive.
A First Date
After everyone settled into their rooms, one person was given the chance to take their chosen other on a date.
Abigail opted to head away to dinner with Noah, who was very keen to find out more about her.
She, however, explained her slow style, suggesting it could take eight months before she is even willing to call someone her boyfriend.
Noah was unimpressed, and the date looked as though it had been derailed before his insistence eventually got Abigail to open up a little bit more. He explained to her all the ways in which he would treat her differently from other men.
While the date was a little rocky, the entertainment went down very well indeed as both took to smashing pinatas above their table, ending in him holding her in his arms for a romantic kiss under the falling confetti.
K-I-S-S-I-N-G
They weren’t the only ones to get amorous on their first night, with half the love-seekers claiming to have earned the first kiss of the show.
Thanks to some clever editing we will never know whose kiss came first, but a pattern quickly emerged of the women complimenting their men on being better kissers than they expected—how very romantic.
With Tahzjuan and Tre, she was very impressed that her date had better kissing skills than his uncle.
Meanwhile Mari and the still-naked Kenny had a smooch, Connor and Maurissa giggled and shared some kisses on the beach sofa, Tammy and Aaron made out on the daybed, and Ivan and Jessenia kissed in a darkened room. But everything remained very much PG.
Joe Finally Won Some Attention
Grocery Store Joe sadly had some bad memories haunting him on his return to the show, having met his two-year girlfriend Kendall on the show back in 2018.
Sadly they didn’t go the distance, but his return to Mexico brought up some painful memories, causing him to cry on camera (and to no doubt be turned into a whole host of memes in the real world).
He told Wells he was thinking of going home, and spent most of the day lying with a t-shirt on his face on the daybeds, or wandering into the sea alone staring wistfully across the tide.
It turns out the old puppy dog eyes worked a treat, and caused Serena P to abandon her attempts at courting Brendan to go and comfort him with some intriguing shadow dancing.
The pair headed out to the daybed and had a conversation about his breakup with Kendall, as all good first dates should of course discuss these kinds of topics.
Serena P wasn’t turned off by his moping around, or the clear signals that he is still into Kendall, and the pair smooched on the daybed regardless.
Joe’s exclamation: “That’s how a 35-year-old does it” may still be haunting viewers.
A Very Quick Bombshell
Given there are only 10 men to 13 girls, it would make sense for more men to arrive and potentially even up the playing field.
Not in the world of Bachelor Nation, who invited Demi Burnett to return to the fold and no doubt stir up some trouble.
Demi first appeared on Colton’s series of The Bachelor before taking part in Bachelor in Paradise for season six, where she left engaged to Kristian Haggerty in the series’ first same-sex coupling.
However, this relationship and any subsequent ones ended, meaning she is single and ready to mingle once again on the sunny shores of Mexico.
The teaser suggests some other bombshells are going to cause a stir, including the arrival of Becca Kufrin, who may have won The Bachelor, but was then quickly jilted in favor of the runner up.
Her stint on The Bachelorette was also unsuccessful, despite meeting Joe there, so she will be trying once again to find her match.
Another spanner in the works will be the arrival of Kendall Long, whose former relationship with Joe will bring us the love triangle we’ve all been waiting for.
The final potential pot-stirrer will be Thomas Jacobs, who appeared in Katie’s season of The Bachelorette, but looks keen to snatch Tammy away from her beau, Aaron.
As they say: All’s fair in love and war.
