We know, we know, we’re getting ahead of ourselves, but ever since the season 6 Bachelor in Paradise cast first dropped (and a few more contestants were leaked!), we’ve started shipping the stars. Once you get to know all the different bachelors and bachelorettes across the franchise, it’s just too easy to start picking your favorites and daydreaming about who could be a good match with whom. Now that Reality Steve has spilled the beans on 27 different stars from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette who will be feeling the heat on the Mexico beach, we knew we had to go through and start putting together some of our ideal couples. Check out the gallery below to see who we’d like to see couple up in paradise.
TBH, people have been shipping these ever since Colton decided that Hannah G. wasn’t for him. Way before they were ever confirmed as part of the BIP season 6 cast, fans have been going on and on about how the runners-up from their season could be perfect together. They’ve had plenty of time to connect IRL, but now that they’re both going to be in paradise, we’re ready to see the real magic happen.
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Wills Reid and Katie Morton
Wills’ time in paradise was cut tragically short last year when Bibiana gave her rose to Colton instead of him. Considering Colton went on to be the Bachelor, we think Wills deserves a serious second chance — and who better to be with him than Katie? She’s stunning, down-to-earth and a no-drama kind of person, just like Wills. We could see these two going far.
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Wills Reid and Hannah Godwin
If Blake/Hannah and Wills/Katie don’t work out, we think that Wills and Hannah could be kind of beautiful with each other. They both deserve the whole dang world and know what it’s like to feel crushed by their respective lead and then pick themselves up and dust themselves off and move forward. Also, now that Wills has bleached his hair, it just might be time to find out if blonds really do have more fun.
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John Paul Jones and Demi Burnett
Speaking of blonds who have fun — JPJ is our precious prince, and Demi has already declared herself the queen-to-be of paradise, so we’re just over here waiting for this royal romance to bloom. Both know how to be serious when it counts and silly when it doesn’t, and we can’t wait to see who would take whose name. Demi Burnett Jones? John Paul Burnett? Either works for us.
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Derek Peth and Sydney Lotuaco
If this sounds a little out of left field, hear us out. Last time Derek was in paradise, he got engaged, so you know he takes the process seriously. But that engagement also didn’t work, and so he’s probably not ready to dive into another one. As for Sydney, she wants something real, but after confessing on The Bachelor that she’s never been in a serious relationship, we think these two could take it slow and steady and win the race.
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Cam Ayala and Onyeka Ehie
Anybody down for some baddie love? These two may have both been villains on their season, but there’s also a good chance they both have good hearts and just found themselves in situations that got a little out of control. We’d love to see them as the Chris-and-Krystal of this season with a whirlwind romance giving them both a redemption arc.
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Chris Bukowski and Jane Aver
OK, honestly, our first instinct was to put these two together because most casual viewers would look at both of them and go, “Who?” But this might actually work. Jane may not have made it past night one with Colton only to (try to) make a name for herself at the Women Tell All, and Chris may have stuck around the franchise entirely too long, but if they found love and disappeared from our screens it might be the happily-ever-after everyone wants.
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Mike Johnson and Tayshia Adams
Watching Bachelorette Hannah send Mike home pretty much crushed our hearts, but rumor has it that he’s getting another shot to find love in paradise. Assuming he doesn’t pull a Colton and somehow use the summer to snag the Bachelor role, we could see him and Tayshia getting along great. Not only are they both total hotties, but they’re also both looking for real relationships where they can settle down and start families — without seeming like old, boring, no-fun-having fogeys. They’d be the most stunning couple we could ever imagine.
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Kevin Fortenberry and Nicole Lopez-Alvar
Again, this one might seem a little weird, but Kevin proved on The Bachelorette that he knows how to handle an, ahem, delicate situation after walking in on Hannah and Jed hardcore making out. Nicole is known for being a lil bit of a cry-baby (OK, maybe a lot), and she could use someone sensitive in her life. Kevin could be either her shoulder to cry on or the fun-loving jokester that picks her back up.
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Jordan Kimball and Annaliese Puccini
Jordan told us we’d be “out of our minds” to think he’s not coming back to Paradise, but he also warned us not to ship him with Demi. Seeing as Annaliese is also back for round two, we think they should give things another shot. Last year, Jordan dumped Annaliese for Jenna, and that didn’t exactly work out, but his instincts may have been spot on the first time. Could these two make it work if they gave it a real shot?
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Dean Unglert and Demi Burnett
When we heard Dean was coming back to paradise, our first instinct was, “Oh, no.” But if there’s anyone who could whip him into shape — and spank the fboy ways out of him — it’s Demi. She’s a know-what-she-wants kind of gal, and if she wanted Dean, we don’t think anybody could get in her way. She wouldn’t put up with any of his wishy-washy behavior, and we think he just might be into that.
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Connor Saeli and Kristina Schulman
Speaking of Dean’s fboy ways, though, rumor has it that Kristina is also heading back to paradise. This time, we think she deserves a seriously nice guy, and there’s no one nicer than Connor S. After Hannah sent him packing on The Bachelorette, he seemed heartbroken, but we’re hopeful that when he and Kristina meet up, they’ll both discover what real love is really like. Plus, hearing their accents together would be kind of hilarious, don’t you think?
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Dylan Barbour and Caelynn Miller Keyes
Dylan didn’t get too much screen-time, but he did have serious staying power on Hannah B.’s season of The Bachelorette. In reality, though, we think he might have better luck with her former-rival, Caelynn. Both were involved in some drama on their season but came out relatively unscathed, and we think they could figure out how to make it work with each other. OK, they kind of look they could be related — but their kids would have the perfect eyebrow-smirk combination, and, as Arie says, we love that.
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Clay Harbor and Whitney Fransway
Clay couldn’t make it to paradise last year, but he did find love off-screen with one of Nick Viall‘s contestants, Angela Amezcua. After splitting earlier this year, he’s ready to give the Bachelor beaches a shot — and he might just have some luck with Whitney, another one of Nick’s girls. Quiet and sweet, she reminds us a lot of Angela. Think Clay’s got a type?
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Christian Estrada and Bibiana Julian
Christian wasn’t particularly memorable on Becca Kufrin‘s season of The Bachelorette, but he did let his sassy side show on the Men Tell All special. After showing off his fire, he might just be a match for red-hot Bibi. Like she demonstrated with Colton and Krystal last year in paradise, she’s all about a redemption arc, and she just might be feeling Christian enough to help him find his.
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Dean Unglert and Kristina Schulman
OK, OK, we’re just kidding. We’re praying to the Bachelor Nation gods and also Chris Harrison that these two are kept far, far apart on the beaches of Mexico. But also a very teeny tiny part of us can’t help but think that if they did want to reunite and give things another shot in paradise, it just might prove that they were meant to be all along. Y’know? Or no?