The drama is heating up for Bachelor in Paradise's stars—both on and off the beach.
Just before the Sept. 6 episode aired, Pieper James and Brendan Morais took to Instagram to foreshadow what was to come. The suitor from Tayshia Adams' season of The Bachelorette posted a pool selfie with the caption "here for the wrong reasons" while the contestant from Matt James' season of The Bachelor shared a few snapshots of herself with the words "all's fair in love and war." Playing Lizzo and Cardi B's "Rumors" in the background, Pieper also confirmed on TikTok she was "making an appearance on the sand."
But they weren't the only ones to post on social media. Natasha Parker did as well and tweeted "I can't even watch this bs" at one point during the episode's airing.
So what exactly are they referring to? In case you haven't been watching this season, here's what happened. Natasha and Brendan gave each other their roses during their first few weeks in Mexico. But there was trouble in paradise after rumors spread that Brendan had been dating Pieper, who had yet to arrive on the beach, before the show. However, he made it seem like they weren't in a committed relationship.
"My relationship with Pieper has just been super casual," Brendan told Natasha during episode two. "You know, I've had deeper conversations with you than I had with Pieper, and I don't have anything more to say than that. Like, I really, really like spending time with you, and I think you're a sweetheart, and you seem to be a lot of fun, and I have the strongest connection with you."
But when Pieper made her debut on the Sept. 6 episode and immediately asked Brendan on a date, red flags were raised. During their one-on-one, she thanked him for "playing the game" and later called him her boyfriend.
It wasn't long before they were packing on the PDA, leading Natasha to sit down with them and find out the truth. Natasha, who originally appeared on Peter Weber's season of The Bachelor, called out Brendan for not being honest about his romance with Pieper and said she would have explored other relationships if she had known. Brendan then said he didn't think he stood in Natasha's way of forming other connections.
Natasha also questioned Brendan and Pieper's motives for coming on the show and accused them of doing it for clout. Later on, viewers saw Brendan and Pieper talk about how their follower count went up after reports about them hanging out first spread over the summer.
After the episode aired, Pieper shared a post on Instagram that claimed "an edited, produced, and cut down show isn't going to show you every single thing said and done."
"I don't believe in pitting women against each other," part of the post later read. "I don't believe men are prizes to be won at the expense of someone's feelings. I believe in open communication to get answers, not name calling on the internet."
In a separate post, Natasha reflected on the drama and shared a quote by r.h. Sin: "You deserve the love you give."
"Sometimes dating is tough," she wrote. "Sometimes we only see the best parts of people. Sometimes we put too much trust in the wrong person. Sometimes we know something's off but we choose to trust anyway. Sometimes once we realize we're being naive and lied to, it's too late. Sometimes we know we should have followed that gut feeling, but didn't. Sometimes people treat us like we don't matter. Sometimes we question our self-worth. Sometimes we get our heart broken. Sometimes we cry about it. Sometimes we blame ourselves. Sometimes it's easier to put up walls and give up on love."
However, Natasha suggested she isn't going to let this experience bring her down. "But what I have learned is one's capacity to love, trust, show vulnerability and be good to others is a reflection of self," she concluded. "And when others disregard you, take advantage, mislead, and choose selfishness that is also a reflection of who they are. If you're reading this, and it resonates with you, you will smile again, keep going, the right one will love you for your pure heart. #IntegrityMatters."