Can’t wait for the Bachelor in Paradise drama-fest to begin this summer? Filming for the third season of ABC’s summer reality show begins early next week, and the first round of contestants are heading to Mexico this weekend with hopes of finding love with other Bachelor and Bachelorette castoffs.
Who’s headed to Paradise , where will filming take place, and when is the season premiere? Here’s the latest scoop on the season that is shaping up to have an all-star cast and the potential (seriously) to be the most dramatic season ever.
[Warning: Bachelorette Season 12 spoilers ahead]
The cast and crew are reportedly returning to the Playa Escondida in Sayulita, Mexico, where the now-famous Jorge the bartender kept drinks flowing and doled out advice to last season’s contestants.
Taping for the past two seasons took approximately three weeks, and if the format remains the same for Season 3, fans can expect some serious spoilers about the outcome of the show to leak out by the end of the month.
If the latest Bachelor in Paradise cast confirmations and rumors are correct, Jorge will be pouring tropical drinks for some familiar faces from Season 2 and a long list of new contestants from JoJo’s season, Ben’s season, and a few blasts from the past from the Bachelor family.
The majority of the cast will feature some of the Bachelor Nation’s newest reality TV stars, including at least five ladies who were rejected by Ben Higgins and several guys who have been or will be sent home soon on JoJo Fletcher’s season.
Although the show’s creator, Mike Fleiss , recently tweeted that Caila Quinn, Lace Morris, and Ben Zorn will be part of this season’s cast, he quickly deleted his tweet, signaling that he may have spoken too soon. According to blogger Reality Steve , Caila and Ben will not be on the show, but despite being spotted out with a new boyfriend , Lace is on board for some summertime TV drama.
Another potential contestant who said, “no” to producers is Olivia Caridi. After getting one of the worst villain edits in the history of the Bachelor franchise, Olivia recently told Courtney Robertson (Ben Flajnik’s ex) that she “definitely won’t be making an appearance on Bachelor in Paradise .” Not only will she avoid another nasty edit, she has better things to do. Caridi states that she recently met someone really special who didn’t watch the show and is enjoying dating him “in the real world.”
According to Us Weekly , single mom Amanda Stanton is one of this seasons’ confirmed cast members.
We knew @amandastantonnn ‘s kids would be cute, but when one said she was too shy to meet @benhiggi ???? #TheBachelor pic.twitter.com/635pWK3Oia
— Whipclip (@whipclip) February 23, 2016
Amanda, who has two young daughters, was eliminated after the hometown date with Ben and will soon meet a new crop of men of potential boyfriends in Paradise — and hopefully, it’s not Chad Johnson.
Chad is going above and beyond his duties as a villain on JoJo’s season of The Bachelorette , but he won’t last much longer on the show. Spoilers point to Chad being sent home on a two-on-one date in Episode 4 (June 7), but Mike Fleiss recently hinted on Twitter that Chad will soon be showing up in Paradise . Is anyone surprised?
In addition to Amanda, Reality Steve is confident that twins Emily and Haley Ferguson, Jubilee Sharpe, and Leah Block will be part of the initial round of cast members who are flying down to Mexico this weekend to start filming.
Contestants show up on different weeks if they are not part of the premiere cast, so it’s still not clear when Chad will make his presence known, but expect ratings to go sky high when he arrives in Paradise .
Several of Chad’s co-stars from JoJo’s season are expected to join the Bachelor in Paradise cast as well. Although their names have yet to be confirmed by ABC, fans may see all or some of the guys on this list — James Taylor, Vincent Ventiera, Evan Bass, Christian Bishop, Derek Peth, Grant Kemp , and Wells Adams.
There are also rumors that more of Ben’s ladies will be part of this season’s cast as well, including Izzy Goodkind, Jennifer Saviano, Jami Letain, and Lauren Himle.
Will fans see Carly Waddell, Ashley Iaconetti, Jared Haibon, JJ Lane , and Joe Bailey return for another round of Paradise fun? Spoilers point to at least three of the five, if not all, former castmates returning to the show.
Also in the rumor mill — Andi Dorfman’s ex Josh Murray and Jef Holm, who was briefly engaged to Season 8 Bachelorette Emily Maynard.
What about Becca Tilley? After two failed attempts to find love on the Bachelor (Chris Soules, Ben Higgins’ seasons), there is no confirmation that she will join the Bachelor in Paradise cast, but Mike Fleiss did tell fans that she would appear on TV again, so that’s something to think about while we wait for ABC to release the complete cast list this summer.
@fleissmeister we will all be fine as long as @beccatilley5 gets on another tv show…deal?
— Stacie Hart (@srhart3) March 15, 2016
— Mike Fleiss (@fleissmeister) March 15, 2016
Bachelor in Paradise Season 3 premieres August 2 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
[Image via ABC Television Network]