Oh, what a tangled web Bachelor in Paradise is weaving.
On this season of the hit reality series, contestant Blake Horstmann found himself in a bit of a sticky situation between fellow stars Caelynn Miller-Keyes, Kristina Schulman and Tayshia Adams. After arriving to the tropical location, it was revealed that Blake had been involved with both Caelynn and Kristina prior to the show, even hooking up with both of them during the same weekend at Stagecoach Festival in April.
On BiP, Caelynn claimed that she and Blake had been "talking" for "a couple months" after being set up by Colton Underwood. On the second night of the music festival, Caelynn and Blake hooked up, but it was later revealed that he hooked up with Kristina on the first night of Stagecoach.
Before filming on BiP began, Caelynn claimed, Blake wanted her to "lie" about their hookup, saying he called their intimate time together a "mistake." During the second episode of the reality show, viewers saw both Kristina and Caelynn confront Blake over the situation.
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As the episode was airing, a distraught Blake took to Instagram to defend himself, sharing his side of the story, as well as text messages between him and Caelynn. Before we get into the text messages, let's take a look back at a timeline of events that led to this tangled web.
Blake Meets Kristina-Aug. 2018: On Bachelor in Paradise, Kristina tells Blake she "saw a different" side of him when they met in August. "I was like, this guy is worthy of my attention and what I have to offer," she shares. "We had some fun and then, at times, more than friends."
Colton Sets Caelynn Up With Blake-Prior to Stagecoach: While on BiP, Caelynn says that, at some point before Stagecoach, Colton set her up with Blake. "Blake and I were talking for a couple months...we were like FaceTiming like three times a day, texting every day," Caelynn said. "I really liked him, I was like I actually see something with this guy."
During a chat with BiP's Wells Adams, Caelynn claimed that Blake "ghosted" her. She went on to tell Wells that she saw Blake at the music festival and he "ended up like sweet-talking me and we spent the night together."
According to Caelynn, when she woke up in his bed, Blake was direct messaging her fellow Bachelor contestant Hannah Godwin and "talking about how hot" Tayshia Adams is.
Stagecoach-April 2019: According to Kristina and Caelynn's accounts, Blake hooked up with Kristina on the first night of the festival and Caelynn on the second night. Blake told Kristina about his night with Caelynn three days before they went to paradise, Kristina said in a tweet.
But, that's not all! It turns out another BiP contestant was involved with Blake before filming began. On episode four, Hannah G. admits to Dylan Barbour that she was dating Blake before coming to paradise. "He actually texted me before this and he was like, 'So in order to show you who I am, I booked a flight to Birmingham.' We met up, had a conversation and we kissed there. Then I went home," she explained.
In a confessional, Dylan called the reveal the "ultimate slap in the face."
BiP Filming Begins-June 2019: In June, production for BiP begins. Caelynn claimed that she talked to Blake shortly before filming began and he told her to "lie" about their hookup.
BiP Premieres-Aug. 2019: In the premiere episode, details begin to emerge about Blake's Stagecoach weekend. On the following episode, Caelynn told Blake she felt "disrespected" by him and broke down in tears.
Blake Shares Texts From Caelynn-Aug. 2019: As the second episode of BiP was airing, Blake took to Instagram to share his side of the story.
"I NEVER 'sweet talked' her at Stagecoach. Caelynn and I were NEVER in a relationship. I NEVER ghosted Caelynn, I NEVER called her a mistake and I absolutely NEVER EVER EVER silenced Caelynn," Blake said in response to Caelynn's claims.
Blake also shared text exchanges between him and Caelynn from both Stagecoach and from one week before BiP. In their texts from Stagecoach, Blake writes to Caelynn, "We can cuddle but no sex lol." Caelynn went on to tell Blake, "If I come over it's strictly for sex. Nothing more nothing less."
In their conversation before BiP, Caelynn and Blake discussed being "honest" about their past. You can see both exchanges above!
Caelynn Responds to Blake's Allegations: Like Blake, Caelynn chooses to address the BiP drama on her Instagram. In her statement, she states, "The reality of the situation is that Blake was not a one night stand at a music festival and the 5 am text exchange that Blake chose to share is not an accurate representation of our past relationship." The former pageant queen also claims that she had no intention to "ruin someone's character," contrary to Blake's insistence that she was trying to paint him in a negative light. "I take ownership for what I said on the beach. I was upset and I let my emotions control my words."
Source Reveals Dean Unglert & Caelynn Miller Keyes' Relationship Status: With the BiP scandal in full swing, a source tells E!, "This Blake situation has put huge amount of stress on their relationship. Things are very tense between them. Caelynn is having a really hard time with it." But the two continue to fight for what they have, especially Dean, who compared Blake's actions to revenge porn.
Blake Finally Apologizes at BiP Finale: While sitting in the hot seat, Blake finally admits that he shouldn't have approached the situation the way he did. "I didn't want to hurt you. I know people think that that was a malicious act. I tried to get my truth out, and I am so sorry that you got attacked, and I am so sorry that you are feeling the way you are," he emotionally says to Caelynn, who is in tears. "Clearly, I made some mistakes and I'm gonna learn from them."
Caelynn accepted his apology and issued her own because she "fully overreacted," but stated that she would "never stoop so low to air those text messages."
(This story was originally published on Wed, Aug 7, 2019 at 2:23 p.m. PST.)