The Bachelor franchise seems to be in a bit of a transition period right now, with The Bachelorette being removed from the 2025 TV schedule and staffers making toxic workplace allegations against the executive producers. Meanwhile, Bachelor in Paradise is set to return this year, and big changes are afoot there as well. A new showrunner will lead Season 10, and I agree with one former contestant’s take on rumors that Golden contestants will be hitting the beach.
When Bachelor in Paradise makes a triumphant return for Season 10, Scott Teti (EP of Claim to Fame, Summer House and more) will be the showrunner, and according to The Bachelor alums Ashley Iaconetti and Ben Higgins, that allegedly means new producers, a new location and even a Golden twist. Iaconetti said on their Almost Famous podcast:
We hear something crazy, guys. Freaking crazy. We hear that the Goldens are gonna be part of it in some way. I hope that when we hear this, it’s not them being like, ‘Oh, they’re gonna host dates.’ That would be lame. No, please have the Goldens dating in Paradise.
I agree 100%. The Golden Bachelor contestants have expressed interest in a Golden Paradise, and I think it’s more realistic to have them join their younger counterparts rather than give them their own spinoff. To that end, if it’s true that the Golden cast members are involved, it needs to be in a dating capacity, not hosting a group activity like several of Golden guys did with Grant Ellis’ prom.
Location also needs to be factored in, because some Goldens have already said it’s got to be somewhere with air conditioning. They don’t want the bugs in the beds, crabs in the toilet, or the so-hot-you-sweat-your-boobs-off atmosphere (although that did kind of already happen to Joan Vassos). As for where BIP Season 10 might take place, Ben Higgins weighed in with what his sources have said:
I’ve been hearing the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico.
Just to emphasize, none of this is official or confirmed information. The Almost Famous hosts are still connected to the franchise, but they’re still just repeating rumors. However, if true, it sounds like moving out of the Playa Escondida in Sayulita, Mexico, might be the decision of the resort, not the whim of the new showrunner. Ashley Iaconetti said she’s heard rumors that:
The owner was like, ‘These new head producers? Not my fave, don’t love working with them. When I signed onto the show, I was working with these people, and now all these people are gone, and I don’t like these new faces.’ So that’s why they’ve changed locations, because the resort didn’t want to work with production anymore.
This sounds to me like the owner would be talking about the ousted EPs Claire Freeland, Jason Ehrlich and Bennett Graebner, who took over Bachelor in Paradise when Mike Fleiss left the franchise in 2023, because the Playa Escondida wouldn’t have dealt with Season 10 showrunner Scott Teti yet in that capacity.
These rumors are pretty crazy and very exciting, since I really thought Bachelor in Paradise was due for an update after a terrible ninth season. Hopefully over the next few months we’ll get some official info regarding the above topics, as well as if Jesse Palmer and Wells Adams will return.
