It’s been a roller coaster ride of a summer for “Bachelor in Paradise,” and the fourth season hasn’t even aired yet.
After an alleged sexual incident between contestants Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson halted production in June, the show has been mired in controversy. Although an investigation found that no sexual assault occurred on set, ABC has yet to fully disclose what actually went down in Paradise.
But according to cast member Vinny Ventiera, “BiP” will address the situation directly, presumably during the season premiere on Aug. 14.
The whole ordeal has actually turned out to be a positive for the network, according to Ventiera, who is appearing alongside his former co-star Daniel Maguire on Patti Stanger’s “Million Dollar Matchmaker” this Friday. The trio stopped by Wednesday to speak with HuffPost on Build Series.
“When we went back, we do address it. It will be addressed on the episode,” Ventiera said of the incident. “It was a negative situation that was turned into a positive now with a public network and a television show because those are situations people deal with every day and now someone can watch this and say, ‘I had a similar situation and I’m not afraid to go public about it.’”
Stanger, who herself has a lot of experience with reality TV, chimed in to say that most such programs deal with their fair share of scandal ― viewers just don’t usually hear about it.
“You guys don’t know what goes on behind the scenes,” Stanger said. “We all had it. We had it for six years on ‘Matchmaker.’ People were hitting it in the bathroom, drinking. [Cast members] don’t get TV, they don’t get any type of outside stimulation ― so there’s no reading, their phones are taken away the first day ― and then everybody expects them to be like angels. But then they want you to break that crazy fourth wall and go crazy, so things happen.”
As for Maguire, who has yet to confirm whether or not he will return to “Paradise” this season, he just doesn’t think Olympios is authentic.
“When watching Nick [Viall]’s season of ‘The Bachelor,’ I wasn’t a big fan of Corinne, to be honest,” Maguire explained. “I just found her, you know ... nothing good. I just didn’t find her [to be] a good person.”
He added of certain “Bachelor/Bachelorette” contestants, “I find a lot of people can just kind of be fake and phony because they’re going to be on TV and they think that’s what looks good on TV and that’s what people want. But they’re not being sincere to themselves because you don’t have the real confidence to not care what people think.”
“Million Dollar Matchmaker” airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on We TV. “Bachelor in Paradise” returns to ABC with a two-night premiere beginning on Aug. 14 at 8 p.m. ET.
Watch the full Build Series interview with Stranger, Ventiera and Maguire below.
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