Astrid Was ALMOST On 'Bachelor In Paradise' Before, But Now She's Here For Real

Bachelor In Paradise brings back a lot of familiar faces — some who have appeared as recently as this past installment of The Bachelorette, and some who you'll have to reach back a little further in your TV brains to remember. Paradise risks being overshadowed by buzz surrounding contestants from Arie and Becca's seasons of the show, but there are still plenty of others to take note of. So who is Astrid from Bachelor In Paradise?

According to her official Bachelor in Paradise bio, Astrid Loch was on Season 21 of The Bachelor, a.k.a., Nick Viall's season. She only made it to Week Four, when she was one of two women sent home, so she wasn't exactly a frontrunner, but Paradise will presumably give her more time to shine onscreen. She's also a pretty big part of Bachelor Nation — she and former Bachelorette Rachel Lindsay in particular seem to be pals, and she's also posted plenty of snapshots with other former Bachelor co-stars, even accompanying them with cute captions about how much friendship she's gained from the show.

Fans have also been pretty hyped about her appearance on Paradise. "Astrid with anyone," one now-deleted Reddit account wrote in a thread from earlier this summer about potential Paradise couples. "I liked what I’ve seen of her on Nick’s season and social media and I would love to see more of her/see her have an actual relationship with someone."

She's also definitely kept up with Bachelor franchise happenings even after she was no longer a mainstay on the show — she live tweeted throughout Becca's season of The Bachelorette, including during the heart-wrenching breakup with Blake featured in Monday night's finale.

And, she's no stranger to Paradise. Astrid tweeted ahead of the previous season of Paradise, seemingly hinting she was going to be there. But according to Entertainment Tonight, she was one of the few who did not participate in production as planned after controversy swirled regarding an encounter between contestants Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson. The outlet states that production of Bachelor In Paradise was shut down after producers filed a complaint that the two were engaging in sexual conduct that they were way too drunk to be engaging in.

The Hollywood Reporter later reported that the show was cleared of any wrong-doing, and production eventually resumed after an investigation, though some, like Astrid, apparently didn't see fit to return after the incident, even if that may have originally been her plan.

She's definitely on board for Season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise, though, and apparently this stint of filming went off without any troubling issues that last season had. There'll be plenty of big personalities on the show, but it's clear that some will be tuning in just to see what Astrid is up to. Since her time on The Bachelor, her social media suggests she's living a happy life, spending time with her family, partying with her friends, and snuggling this very cute dog.

It seems like Astrid is one of the people who's come away from the franchise not just with a new dating experience under her belt, but also a new crew of friends. In an atmosphere like Bachelor In Paradise, where you're supposed to just relax and party and see what happens, there's no telling the new connections — romantic and otherwise — she could make.