Why Adam Jr. Won't Be On ‘Bachelor In Paradise’

Bachelor In Paradise is known for giving audiences a chance to get to know some of the franchise’s former contestants better, and nobody needs that kind of attention more than Adam Gottschalk. Who, you ask? Exactly. Despite having a great time with Rachel Lindsay behind the scenes, Adam didn’t make much of an impression on The Bachelorette. Now that he’ll reportedly be appearing on the exotic spinoff series, though, maybe he’ll be able to change things around. So who is Adam from Bachelor In Paradise?

If you don’t remember anything about Adam was like, you’re probably not alone; the 27-year-old Dallas real estate agent didn’t get a whole lot of screentime when he appeared on Rachel Linday’s season of The Bachelorette, and was let go just before Hometown dates without a whole lot of fanfare. But I’m sure you’ll be able recall his first-night date gimmick: Adam Jr, the creepy little doll in a three piece suit who quickly captivated audiences from the very moment he appeared on screen.

According to a recent interview Adam gave the Dallas-based D Magazine, the doll wasn’t even his idea — originally he wanted to come out of the limo with a Dallas Cowboys helmet on, but allegedly couldn't get clearance in time to run with that idea. Hence Adam Jr.

“Before the show starts, you’re held in a hotel room by yourself with nothing but producers coming in and out. I made this little mannequin with some pillows which always made the producers laugh. The night before the limo entrances, one producer who knew Rachel well from last season said he had an idea for how I could stand out. At first, I was like, ‘hell no,’ but he said they would make sure it wouldn’t be like a ventriloquist thing or anything creepy. They got a little mannequin, and took care of giving it multiple outfits throughout the show while it traveled with us.”

Adam Jr.’s trademark European ennui was all the producers, too. “I did not know he was going to be French,” Adam explained.

Whoever that producer was deserves a raise. And, Adam Jr., or AJ for short, arguably got more screentime than Adam did, and quickly became the odd, hilariously surreal mascot of the season. Any time Rachel and the guys were out on a group date together somewhere, there was AJ, ominously watching in a crowd of basketball fans or a spelling bee audience.

However, Adam Jr. probably won’t be making an appearance on Bachelor In Paradise. Adam told D Magazine that all the contestants signed the doll during the Men Tell All taping and are planning to auction it off for charity. I’m guessing that makes it far too valuable to bring onto the beach, where the waves and sand might ruin all that new ink.

However, now that Adam’s free from his doll-ppelganger's shadow, he’s doing a lot of other cool stuff with his life — like working with his local Dick’s Sporting Goods store to provide basketball shoes to boys and girls in his community, as evidenced on his Instagram page:

Or flying a plane around the Dallas airspace:

Hopefully Adam will find a new way to stand out on this season of Bachelor In Paradise now that the pressure of dating Rachel is far behind him. If not, I bet he could probably cobble together a new doll out of driftwood and a Castaway-style volleyball head. How does Wilson Jr. sound for a name?