The Bachelor In Paradise Season 9 Finale Will Be Longer Than Usual

With Thanksgiving — and the highly anticipated The Golden Bachelor finale — around the corner, the Bachelor in Paradise Season 9 schedule is about to get an overhaul. Luckily, ABC already revealed exactly when viewers can expect to find out if their favorite couples end up together in a supersized BiP finale.

Following a holiday break to “hit the daybed and relax,” the penultimate episode shifts to 10 p.m. for a shorter, one-hour installment (to make room for Gerry’s Golden Bachelor finale) on Nov. 30. Not to worry, though. When the BiP Season 9 finale drops on Dec. 7, the network will make up for lost time by stretching the episode to three hours, airing from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Expect The Unexpected

Though a majority of the relationships are already established, there could still be some wild cards ahead in Mexico.

“I think that people at home are gonna be really surprised at who ends up coupling up together and who potentially finds love on the beach,” host Jesse Palmer hinted to E! before the season premiered in September. “I bet there are some couples that nobody saw coming, that no one will be able to connect in the beginning. [Like], ‘There’s no way it's going to be these two people.’ And that’s what inevitably happens.”

Potential engagements aside, ABC already teased a BiP wedding — thought it’s likely not what it seems. In a clip from the Season 9 trailer, Palmer appears to serve as a wedding officiant, saying, “I now pronounce you man and wife.”

Potential BiP spoilers ahead! However, Reality Steve reported that Kenny Braasch and Mari Pepin, who got engaged in Season 7, exchanged vows on camera. (They also recently had a wedding ceremony in Puerto Rico on Nov. 11.)

A Shorter Filming Timeline

Reality Steve also reported that the final couples on the beach are Kat Izzo and John Henry Spurlock, Aaron Bryant and Eliza Isichei, and Aven Jones and Kylee Russell. While the blogger pointed to at least one possible proposal among them, the shorter-than-usual production schedule wasn’t exactly conducive to forming lifelong commitments.

Cameras were reportedly rolling from June 6 to roughly June 23, meaning the longest possible time anyone had to go from their first date to an engagement was about two and a half weeks. As fans are well aware, new singles rotate into the mix during that time period, too, leaving them even less time to commit to marriage.

If Kenny and Mari’s love story is any indication, that doesn’t mean there couldn’t still be wedding bells — or a televised wedding — for them in the future.