Ooh boy, Joe Bailey has really stepped in it on Bachelor In Paradise. If you haven’t been watching or if you’re not caught up, he jumped into bed (figuratively) with Juelia in order to get a rose, quickly dumping her as soon as Sammi Steffen came on the show. Plenty of people warned Juelia against getting involved with Joe, but she got her heart broken and boy oh boy, did JJ Lane not like it. He has never been (at least during his time on The Bachelorette and Bachelor In Paradise) one to shy away from a fight, and of course Joe and JJ fought on Bachelor in Paradise while JJ defended Juelia’s honor.
Whether or not Sammi and her man planned to do whatever it took to stay on the show so they could be together (they totally did), it’s not exactly illegal. And, while it’s not illegal, it’s really crappy of them. On After Paradise, JJ told hosts Chris Harrison and Jenny Mollen that he didn’t know the extent of Joe’s plotting against Juelia and the rest of the contestants, and if he did he would have “knocked him the f**k out right there.” While his language was certainly colorful, I can see where he is coming from.
On Kaitlyn’s season of The Bachelorette, Joe came off as the guy next door — until he got kicked off the show. When Kaitlyn said goodbye to Joe, he really turned on a dime, and I really believe that that cold, nasty persona that he exhibited to Kaitlyn is his personality. Is he evil? Probably not. But, is he a nice person? No, I don’t think so, either. If he doesn’t get his way, stand back. While JJ has a level of self-awareness behind his “villains gotta vill” personality, Joe is just doing whatever he wants to whomever he wants with no real consequences. JJ is obviously tired of watching this happen, so their fight was just waiting to happen.
So, will things actually come to blows between JJ and Joe when the episode continues next week? I doubt it, seeing as ABC doesn’t need that kind of lawsuit, but I’m very much looking forward to more of JJ’s one-liners, and I'm glad he's not Bachelor Nation's #1 villain anymore.
Images: ABC/Rick Rowell
