Is there trouble in paradise? With Tyler Norris entering the beach on Bachelor In Paradise on Oct. 12, where his ex-girlfriend Rachel Recchia has been forming a connection with the handsome Sean McLaughlin, fans of The Bachelor franchise were worried that there would be bad blood between the duo upon his arrival…
Fortunately, the pair seemed to be on good terms with one another, pulling Rachel for the first conversation as soon as he came down to the beach. While the ex-lovers appeared to hit it off (according to Sean, a self-proclaimed master body language reader), Tyler built a stronger connection with Mercedes Northup after some initial conversations, inviting her to embark on an oh-so-special date with him under the stars — how romantic!
While Tyler and Rachel seem to be going their separate ways on this season of Bachelor In Paradise, viewers are curious as to what happened between the duo during Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey‘s season of The Bachelorette. Fortunately, we got you covered…
Keep scrolling for the rundown on Tyler and Rachel’s relationship during season 19 of The Bachelorette.
Given that season 19 of The Bachelorette had two leads, Tyler made it clear that coming into the show he only had eyes for Rachel. He wrote a poem for her, as well as revealed that he had DMed her while she was still pursuing Clayton Echard on his season of The Bachelor — how sweet is that?
With a relationship that seemed to be smooth sailing from day one, securing a rose at the final four and making it to hometown dates, Rachel sent him home during their one-on-one, which occurred just moments before the duo was supposed to go meet his family.
The pair traveled to Wildwood, New Jersey, where they spent the day walking on the boardwalk, playing games, riding rides, and more. They even met up with some of Tyler’s friends and relatives on the boardwalk during the seemingly perfect date, however, Rachel began to feel uneasy.
After Tyler admitted to the flight instructor that he was in love with her, gushing that she was “the most amazing person [he has] ever met,” Rachel explained that she was feeling as though their connection was not as strong as some of the others, and she was not ready to meet his family just yet.
“I wish I could get there, I do. You’re going to find everything you deserve,” Rachel said to Tyler, teary-eyed. While he was heartbroken, Tyler handled the situation with grace and kindness, thanking Rachel for not getting his family involved if she was not certain they would get engaged in the end.
“I had a chance to show somebody my hometown, and I love my hometown. I love the Jersey Shore, so getting a chance to show that [to] somebody else, I was like super excited. It seemed like everything was going so great, but then seeing how she felt making the decision that she did, I understood it,” Tyler dished at “The Men Tell All” shortly after the breakup.
“It still hurts watching it back. When you put your whole self out there for somebody and just hoping for the best, and it doesn’t work out,” he continued, but he added that he respects how she went about it nonetheless.
“I mean, she did it with the most class and did it the way that you’re supposed to, and didn’t string me along,” he explained, being very understanding and receptive to why Rachel broke up with him when she did.
If things do not work out with Mercedes and Sean, will the ex-lovers rekindle their flame during Bachelor In Paradise? Only time will tell…
Bachelor in Paradise airs Thursdays at 9pm ET/8pm CT on ABC, with new episodes available to stream on Hulu the next day.
