In the musical chairs of love that is Bachelor In Paradise, Tanner Tolbert and Jade Roper have been one of the only couples to count on. Sparks flew during Week 1 and pretty much never never stopped. Tanner even told the cameras early on that he "wasn't really expecting to have an interest in anybody, more than just a friendly... whatever." Your soulmate only shows up as soon you stop looking for them, right? Score 1 for Team Fate then if the couple sticks together through the end of the show. It would seem that Tanner and Jade are headed for a finale proposal, but Bachelor fans have been burned by that assumption before. What if one of them gets cold feet? So, is Tanner single post- Bachelor In Paradise ?
Jade is doing an awful lot of crying in the trailer for the two-part finale — cue appropriate "trouble in Paradise" joke. The preview is cut in a way that leads fans to believe that it's Tanner who backs out of the relationship, with Jade left "blindsided." According to blogger Reality Steve, the promo is just a fake-out; Tanner will propose to Jade and she'll accept. He also characterizes their relationship as a "showmance" and guesses that the engagement may not last — it wouldn't necessarily be the first time that a Bachelor relationship seems much less magical as soon as the cameras are gone.
Meanwhile, contestants aren't prohibited from sharing details about their ongoing friendships. On Twitter, Jade is often singing the praises of pal and roommate Carly Waddell. She retweeted a fan and added a telling joke that could serve as a clue to her relationship status. Ovaries before brovaries? You be the judge.
Tanner's Instagram is pretty spoiler-free at first glance; lots of beach sunsets and photos with his Bachelor bros. But I'm intrigued by this seemingly harmless bachelor party group photo and its caption: "Lance is getting married...what an idiot." Is it just a joke? Or a hint to Tanner's current views on settling down?
Whether Jade gets dumped on the finale or not, her Instagram shows a girl who's loving life. She's been actively promoting the show, sharing looks, talking up her beauty brand, and (aw) spreading the word about adoptable shelter dogs. Jade's social media persona could read "happy and wifed up" or "happy and single," but this saccharine quote that the contestant shared last week points to the former.
As does Tanner's recent tweet, joking that he and his fellow contestants talked about pulling a rose ceremony switcheroo to keep things interesting. I don't know, I'm kind of into this idea of these guys going rogue and puppet-mastering the competition, just to create as crazy a season as possible.
Still, I'm side-eyeing the "boring couple" comment. Tanner's got jokes about long-term relationships, and they might betray an interest in staying on that playing field.
Whether they stay together forever or not, Tanner and Jade gave Bachelor In Paradise some much-appreciated romantic stability. At least for a while.
