Another episode of Bachelor In Paradise, another installation of the saga that is Joe Bailey and Samantha Steffen. Last time we checked in to Paradise, JJ was attacking Joe for playing Juelia like a fiddle, giving her a rose, and then dumping her as soon as Sammi Steffen got there. Oh boy. A lot of lying later, they addressed the group, and Joe and Sam confirmed how long they have known each other before Bachelor in Paradise. Joe admitted having a textual relationship with Sam for a bit before Bachelor In Paradise, but Sam doubled down and said that they had only exchanged a handful of texts and that there was no collusion between she and Joe to stay on the show. Ugh, you can't trust anything in ParadiseTime to get down to the bottom of things: How long have Joe and Sam really known each other?
If we go by the timeline that Joe dictated in saying that he and Sam started talking post-Bach, he got kicked off of Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette sometime this spring. So, if Sammi reached out to him when he returned home from The Bachelorette and they continued talking and wanting to meet until then, Joe and Sam have been in contact for about three or four months. That’s three or four months of collusion. Although, Joe has relegated it to just four weeks, saying, "I did talk to Samantha for about a month via social media, text messages, and phone calls."
Sam, on the other hand, has vehemently denied that the relationship was that deep. She said that she and Joe started talking after The Bachelorette and spoke on and off until they were magically put on the same season of Bachelor In Paradise. Something is rotten in the state of Bachelor Nation, you guys.
Since Joe has given a fairly detailed account of his history with Sam, and Tanner has corroborated how long he’s known about their relationship, it sure seems like Sam is lying. She even suggested that Joe tell producers they hardly talked. But why? What’s the point? Why would she double down on something that’s already come out as mostly truth?
The fact of the matters seems to be that Joe and Sam have known each other since the spring and they should just fess up to it, because the continued lying is only hurting their situation.
Images: ABC/Rick Rowell
