Bachelor Nation fans might be watching the most chaotic season of the already-often-messy spinoff, Bachelor in Paradise, and that point was hit home last night as Katherine Izzo anticipated a thrilling birthday celebration, but was instead left singing lyrics to Filter’s iconic song: “one is the loneliest number that you’ll ever know.”
Izzo woke up with a glimmer of joy in her eyes as she proclaimed that it was her birthday, and she was looking forward to a beautiful day with Tanner. However, her birthday soon turned into anything but an awe-inspiring festivity when a new girl joined the ranks in paradise, and immediately asked Tanner out on a date.
The shock, the horror…er…maybe not.
Hear me out; I know how it feels to have your birthday ruined by the guy you thought was your knight in shining armor — it’s certainly something that stays with you, but did Tanner really drop the ball here? Did he deserve to be spoken about behind his back all afternoon? Is this just how life unfolds in paradise, or is production to blame?
I mean, even their Instagram mentions a “birthday curse” nine years in the making, and Kat is no stranger to Bachelor Nation shenanigans. Should she have been better-prepared for whatever the Bachelor Nation powers that be had in store? Might she have had a better afternoon if she took a moment to self-reflect, instead of immediately jumping into bashing Tanner? Regardless, her birthday ended up being quite a lackluster day.
Let’s take it from the top!
What happened on Kat’s birthday?
Kat woke up, as we said above, expecting a stellar birthday and maybe even a date card that would lead to a special romantic afternoon with Tanner. There is a date card given out on Kat’s birthday, and Tanner does get to go, but Kat isn’t the leading lady in this fairytale. Instead, Bachelor in Paradise brings in a bombshell in the form of Davia Esther, from Zach’s season.
Her hands hold the coveted date card, and she’s got her beautiful eyes set on one man: Tanner. As she goes down to the beach, she immediately pulls Tanner for a conversation, and she quickly realizes that he’s a pretty great dude (because, of course, she does); not wanting to talk to anyone else after their chat, she asks him on a date, and he says yes.
Just as soon as Tanner says yes, he tells Davia that he needs to pull Kat aside for a conversation first, and this is where things go off the rails. If you remember correctly, Kat and Brayden Bowers had partnered up when Tanner first got to the beach, and after he had a moment to speak to a couple of the women, Tanner pulled Kat for a date, and she said yes immediately.
Kat took Tanner’s hand, and the two walked off into the sunset together. She didn’t ask Brayden to talk at all, didn’t give him a moment to explain why she said yes so fast it made our heads spin — she simply skipped off onto an exciting new date.
Tanner asking Kat to talk before their date was more kindness than she showed to Brayden in a similar moment, but instead of taking a beat to rationalize that idea, she flew into outrage, which is where she spent her birthday; emotionally charged and angry.
Tanner, on the other hand, took the time to talk to Kat about going on a date, and was having the time of his life; enjoying a lovely conversation with Davia, dancing, and sharing some romantic moments, and we can’t say he’s wrong for that. People go to paradise for the opportunity to meet “the one,” which doesn’t mean settling down with the first person they talk to.
Also, as we just said, Tanner and Kat weren’t betrothed to one another from day one. Tanner came in and asked Kat on a date when she’d already paired up with Brayden and — say what you will about our favorite guy with golden retriever energy and earrings we find appealing and want to steal — but his feelings were hurt as he felt played by Kat.
Is Tanner wrong for going on a date?
Just look at this stunner; if you ask us, Tanner can do no wrong, but let’s examine this one for a second. Many people on the beach, in seeing Kat’s reaction to Tanner being asked out by Davia, used the word “karma,” and we can’t say they’re wrong for that, either.
Karma, by definition, is “the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences,” and people thought that this was the state of karma visiting her after what she’d done to Brayden. Her being upset with Tanner for going on a date doesn’t sit right with us, after that being the very method by which she and Tanner got together in the first place.
It also doesn’t sit right with us, given the extra kindness Tanner offered to Kat, a puzzle piece she glossed over regarding Brayden, or rather, dis-regarding him completely. It also doesn’t bode well with us that she navigated through the rest of her day with anger and upset, so that when Tanner returned and asked to speak to her, she was ready to unleash on him instead of going into the conversation with a clear mind.
Also, if I may bring it up again, she did worse to Brayden. Now, I’m not in the business of getting even, but I just want justice for Brayden, okay? It’s clear that he ended up in greener pastures with his budding romance with Rachel, but Kat seemed pretty flippant about his emotions when she took a quick turn off of Brayden Ave onto Tanner Blvd; it’s the same way she’s dismissive of Tanner’s feelings, now.
Kat is a pretty girl, she’s funny, and she has excellent qualities, but when it comes to dating and being responsible for her emotions and the emotions of those she engages with, well, let’s just say we’re on Team Tanner (and Brayden) here.