Brendan And Pieper (Finally) Apologized To Natasha For The BIP Drama
But is it too little too late?
Following a very incriminating episode of Bachelor In Paradise on Sept. 6, Brendan Morais and Pieper James have become two of Bachelor Nation’s least favorite villains. ICYMI, Brendan was coupled up with Natasha Parker for the first half of this season. And although things were moving slowly between the two of them (and Natasha had her doubts), there was no real cause for concern until Pieper James entered the beach — and it was revealed that Brendan had been “playing the game” (as Pieper put it), sticking by Natasha only to ensure that he would still be on the beach for Pieper’s arrival. Yes, it sounds as bad as it was.
In the days since the episode aired, Brendan and Pieper’s popularity (and their follower counts) have dwindled, but they waited to speak out on the situation until later in the week. Brendan was up to bat first, and though he had 48 hours since the episode’s release to craft and write up the perfect “I’m sorry” message (not counting the many weeks since filming actually ended), his IG Story apology was just OK. And even he seemed to acknowledge this, promising that “a full statement and apology” would follow — potentially one that wouldn’t disappear after 24 hours? At the time of publication, he has not yet followed up on his original statement.
Taking to IG Stories on Sept. 8, Brendan wrote, “After taking time to begin to process the events that unfolded over the past few days, I have realized I was wrong on so many different levels.” He continued, “Most importantly I apologize to you Natasha. I hurt you. I am so deeply sorry for doing so. I understand that the damage is already done and all I can do going forward is acknowledge the error of my ways.”
Brendan also apologized to the show’s audience — particularly those who found his behavior triggering. (After seeing the episode, some fans took to Twitter to accuse Brendan of gaslighting Natasha, and Natasha retweeted one of them.)
In his apology, Brendan also made sure to take the blame for Pieper’s actions as well. He wrote, “If you feel the need to express disdain for the situation, please do so at my expense. I am completely at fault.” And it looks like Pieper has no problem pointing the blame in his direction.
Speaking to Us Weekly about the BIP drama on Sept. 9, Pieper said, “I’m not an extension of Brendan and his actions, and I don’t condone dishonest behavior.” 👀 She also addressed her friendship with Natasha (which seems to be very much on the rocks). “I had a friendship with Natasha before the show and had spoken to her about me and Brendan talking,” she explained.
Whether or not they spoke pre-filming, it seems that Natasha was out of the loop when it came to understanding how serious things were between Brendan and Pieper. (On the show, Pieper shocked Natasha by revealing that pre-Paradise, she and Brendan were essentially boyfriend and girlfriend without the labels.)
Pieper’s statement continued, “With that said, I am truly sorry for any hurt that I caused her and hope that I get the opportunity to speak to her soon and make things right.” Fingers crossed the producers give us a BIP reunion this season. I need this convo on camera.
All in all, Brendan and Pieper’s apologies are fine — but nothing more. According to Bachelor Nation, the timeline makes these apologies look more like attempts to save face than expressions of remorse. One fan of the show tweeted a screenshot of Brendan’s apology with some choice criticism. “A little too late in my opinion. It took him more then [sic] 24 hrs to realize after that Monday airing? Hes [sic] just upset with how many followers hes [sic] lost,” they wrote. (In the aftermath of the episode, Brendan lost upwards of 70,000 Instagram followers. Pieper lost more than 10,000.)
It’s impossible to know what this duo’s actual intentions are with their apologies, but, based on their BIP storyline, it’s not a stretch to say that they do not have a history of great intentions when it comes to Bachelor Nation. (Does the phrase “playing the game” ring any bells?)
For their sake, I hope they’re truly sorry. And, for Natasha’s sake, I hope they sent her a full bouquet of roses because we all know she deserves it.
