As of Oct. 26, Sean McLaughlin‘s journey on Bachelor In Paradise has officially come to a close, leaving the beach just as single as when he arrived.
Sean’s experience on the hit show was unfortunate (to say the least), getting rejected time and time again by fellow Taylor Swift enthusiast, Jess Girod, having a fight just moments before the rose ceremony with former The Bachelorette lead, Rachel Recchia, and severing his friendship with his enemy-turned-bestie, Brayden Bowers.
He even left with hemorrhoids — poor guy!
To sum up his journey, the Ken doll doppelgänger arrived on the beach with his sights set on one woman and one woman only: Jess. Despite shooting his shot numerous times, she quickly hit it off with Blake Moynes instead, forcing him to pursue some of the other women on the beach. During this exploratory period, Sean hit it off with Rachel, ultimately causing her to offer him a rose at the first rose ceremony of the season — how sweet is that?
After solidifying that the pair will be continuing their connection on the beach, Sean messed up. Badly.
The 26-year-old tried to pursue a relationship with Jess (once again), only to be rejected (once again).
During his less-than-ideal conversation with Jess, Brayden took it upon himself to flirt with Rachel, sharing with her that Sean only had eyes for Jess, and was never really interested in her. Naturally, the flight instructor was not happy (to say the least), causing an argument between Sean and Rachel, followed by an argument between Sean and Brayden.
Given that Rachel was left a single pringle after this scuffle, and Brayden had been single for days (ever since Kat Izzo dropped him to pursue Tanner Courtad), some flirtatiousness between Rachel and Brayden began towards the end of episode 4. To top it all off, thanks to longtime Bachelor In Paradise bartender, Wells Adams‘ truth box, the duo even locked lips moments before the credits rolled.
In episode 5, the pair took it one step further, with Rachel receiving a date card and inviting Brayden on a one-on-one excursion beyond the villa. With a day complete with laughing, smiling, and sharing a great deal of smooches, Bachelor In Paradise viewers took to social media to share that this unlikely duo might just be the new “it” couple of Paradise.
While fans of Bachelor Nation are all in on Rachel and Brayden, Sean shared with Entertainment Tonight his true thoughts on the couples forming on the beach, and he did not have the most positive things to say about the relationship that was forming between his ex-lover and his ex-friend.
“If you’re talking about the couples that I think are the strongest, I think Kylee and Aven are in a really good spot. They seem to be, you know, pretty good… I think truthfully, having Eliza go on the date with John B. and then choose Aaron, that only strengthened the relationship. I think they’re in a really good spot as well,” he gushed.
The New York native continued, “I would say, I think everyone else is probably not end game,” but what about Rachel and Brayden?
While none of the couples were deemed to be “end game” besides Kylee Russell and Aven Jones and Eliza Isichei and Aaron Bryant, Sean went out of his way to make a comment about the blossoming connection between Rachel Recchia and Brayden Bowers.
He dished, “If they’re end game that’s gonna be a hell of a pairing, but I think I think Brayden’s just gonna have some fun. I think Rachel always kind of has fun. It’s nice to see that side of her.”
Is Sean still hurt that Brayden threw him under the bus and severed his connection with Rachel?
In the same interview, Sean put the rumors to rest about what really happened that fateful night.
He explained, “I never made it seem like Rachel is more into me, so hearing Brayden tell Rachel that was a little frustrating. The whole thing was pretty confusing, because I didn’t know Rachel was mad at me for what Brayden had told her. I thought she was mad at me for talking to Jess.”
“Brayden just said that I was saying it, which was never the case,” he prefaced, before sharing how he was hurt by his buddy.
“I just felt betrayed by Brayden, so that was really difficult. But it was more so like, once you’re in this, you don’t want to leave, especially leaving single before the end. It just wasn’t something that I wanted to do, so I was bummed,” he continued passionately. “It was disappointing that things ended with Rachel the way they did… it was just a very disappointing and kind of crappy night.”
Nonetheless, the 26-year-old has no regrets about his Bachelor In Paradise journey, looking back on the experience (as well as the friendships that he built) fondly.
He shared, “I look back on both of my times on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise with great, positive thoughts. I’ve always never understood when contestants come off the show and they kind of trash it a little bit, because I truly had the best relationship with the guys from Charity’s season. I’m friends with everyone from Paradise. I met some of the coolest people, had some of the coolest experiences. I’d definitely be open to doing it again if I was single and the time came around. You never know what the future holds” — with a statement like that, our hearts are just so happy!
While Sean will be missed on the beach, tune into brand new episodes of Bachelor in Paradise every Thursday at 9pm ET/8pm CT on ABC (with new episodes available to stream on Hulu the next day) to see how the rest of the season unfolds.