ABC/Craig Sjodin
Pieper James Says She Tries ‘Not to Live With Regrets’ Amid Ongoing ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ Drama
Letting it roll off her back! Pieper James is not bothered by the ongoing Bachelor in Paradise drama surrounding her and Brendan Morais‘ relationship.
“I don’t think I have any regrets,” the 24-year-old Bachelor Nation member told Us Weekly while attending at NYFW event on Thursday, September 9. “It is what it is, and it happened. I honestly try not to live with regrets. What happened, happened, and I’ll deal with whatever happens next.”
The Bachelor alum — who made her TV debut during Matt James‘ season — made her controversial arrival on the BiP beach on Monday, September 6, and immediately had her eye set on 31-year-old Brendan. Before she walked into Paradise, rumors swirled about Brendan — who initially appeared on Clare Crawley and Tayisha Adams‘ season — and Pieper’s off screen relationship as his connection with another Bachelor Nation member Natasha Parker grew stronger.
While Brendan assured Natasha that he briefly spoke with Pieper before leaving home to go on the reality show, the Oregon native’s arrival appeared to poke holes in his story. When Pieper walked on to the beach with a date card in hand, she immediately asked Brendan on a date. He was quick to agree. While they went off on their excursion, Natasha, 33, attempted to put the pieces of their relationship together.
“I was shocked to see everyone there, including him, including every relationship that was happening,” Pieper also told Us Weekly, denying that she knew of Brendan’s participation in the show. “As new as it was to the viewers was as new as it was to me. … Beforehand, Brendan and I obviously had been talking, but it wasn’t a serious relationship. As we both said on the show, we didn’t have a plan. I have so much going on, I couldn’t have put that together. But obviously, I liked him, and I was excited to see him, but that was the extent of it.”
After Brendan and Pieper returned from their date on Monday’s episode, Natasha confronted the graduate student who claimed she and Brendan had hung out about 10 times before production on BiP started. Whether or not Brendan and Pieper actually had a real relationship before the show remains to be seen, but their connection on the beach has made major headlines. While cozied up together on a daybed, the cameras caught the duo having a conversation about gaining followers on Instagram. Since that scene aired, they’ve both lost thousands of followers while Natasha’s follower count has gone up.
Pieper apologized to Natasha in a separate statement issued to Us Weekly on Thursday.
“I didn’t go into Paradise with the intention of hurting anyone, nor would I ever want to be the reason why someone had a bad experience. I went in excited to see a guy that I had connected with and liked before the show started filming and was looking forward to seeing if that connection would grow into something more,” she said in part. “I had a friendship with Natasha before the show and had spoken to her about me and Brendan talking. With that said, I am truly sorry for any hurt that I caused her and hope that I get the opportunity to speak to her soon and make things right.”
Natasha denied knowing anything about their relationship prior to the show on the Thursday, September 9, episode of the “Click Bait” podcast. Brendan, for his part, issued an apology about the entire situation via Instagram Stories on Wednesday, September 8.
“Most importantly I apologize to you Natasha. I hurt you. I am deeply sorry for doing so,” he wrote. “I understand that the damage is already done and all I can do going forward is acknowledge the error of my ways.”
