Arie's Bachelor season will forever be defined by his choice to end his engagement with Becca to be with his runner-up Lauren. But let's not forget that Kendall on Arie's Bachelor season just narrowly missed all of that heartbreak as one of his final three. Now, Kendall is headed to Bachelor In Paradise and the previews tease that she's going to be in the thick of perhaps the most tumultuous love triangle of Season 5. So while Kendall's time on The Bachelor was low-key because of her mature and chill personality, her appearance on Paradise seems to prove that no one is immune to the Chris Harrison-approved drama of The Bachelor franchise.
For our Bachelor Nation Class of 2018, Bustle gave Kendall Long the superlative of "Most Impressive Conflict Resolution." She earned this title due to how she handled a two-on-one date with the "villain" of Arie's season, Krystal, during Week 6 in Paris. While the two-on-one dates exist to pit two contestants against each other, Kendall did not take the bait. Krystal told Arie that Kendall wasn't ready for marriage as a way to get the rose on the date. Kendall respectfully discussed with Krystal how this act of manipulation hurt her and then also empathized with Krystal. This grounded moment was incredibly rare for the franchise — and it was all thanks to Kendall.
Before the two-on-one date in France, Kendall was mostly known for her unconventional hobbies. For her pre-filmed introduction in the premiere episode, Kendall played the ukulele and sang a song to a taxidermy seal. This free-spirit seemed like a long shot as she was relegated to going on group dates. Yet, her personality shone during the survivalist-themed group date in Lake Tahoe during Week 4. She fearlessly ate bugs and even brought along her taxidermy duckling named Ping. While she was an easy contestant for the others to target because of her quirky personality, Arie was clearly starting to really like her.
Although she never had a standard one-on-one date, Arie went to her California hometown in Week 8. They started the date doing (what else?) taxidermy and then Arie met her family, including her twin sister Kylie. At the rose ceremony after the hometown dates, Arie took Kendall aside to have a heart-to-heart before making his final decision since he was concerned about her level of commitment. She was less sure about marriage than Tia, but Arie still chose Kendall to stay and sent Tia home. For their next date, Kendall went sandboarding with Arie in Peru and they spent the night in the Fantasy Suite. Yet, at the next rose ceremony, he pulled Kendall aside again — and this time, it was for good.
Arie gave Kendall the respect she deserved since he didn't make her stand through a rose ceremony just to be rejected. She also handled their breakup extremely well since it was clear that they weren't in the same place when it came to marriage. Even though she didn't end up with Arie, she did come out of The Bachelor with a load of female friends. She has been a part of the group of women that also includes Bekah M., Sienne, Tia, and Caroline that has supported Becca K. on her Bachelorette journey.
Kendall managed to leave The Bachelor relatively tear-free, but that won't be the case for Bachelor In Paradise. The full trailer shows that Kendall is in love triangle with Grocery Store Joe and Leo, both from Becca's Bachelorette season. While previews for Bachelor shows are known to be misleading, it looks like Leo and Joe will get into a physical altercation — and perhaps their feelings for Kendall was one of the reasons for this fight.
Kendall was an extremely lovable Bachelor contestant and so she has plenty of fans rooting for her to find love. However, promos show that her time in Paradise may be far from idyllic. So even though she managed to fend off drama on The Bachelor, don't expect that to be the case when Bachelor In Paradise premieres on Aug. 7.
