Jill & Romeo Had Some Drama With Kira Before Bachelor In Paradise

Since Bachelor In Paradise brings together contestants from previous seasons of The Bachelorette and The Bachelor, there’s always bound to be some pre-existing drama before people hit the beach. After all, Bachelor Nation is pretty tight-knit, and there’s often a lot of intermingling among the cast members when cameras aren’t rolling. That’s certainly the case with some of the cast of Bachelor In Paradise Season 8; it looks like Romeo Alexander, Jill Chin, and Kira Mengistu all had some drama before this season even began.

To recap, Jill and Kira were friends before filming for BIP Season 8 began. The two met while filming Clayton Echard’s season of The Bachelor and even though neither of them ended up with Clayton, they did get a friendship with each other (along with a bunch of others) out of the season. Meanwhile, Romeo was a contestant in Michelle Young’s season of The Bachelorette but was eliminated during Week 4.

According to the new Paradise drama, Romeo became friends with Jill at some point before BIP filming and he previously went to school with Kira. Romeo and Jill hung out before Paradise, but Jill was confused when Romeo kissed Kira and they spent time together in New York in February 2022. “I wish I had a little more insight about what was going on,” Jill told Romeo when she saw him on the BIP beach.

Even though Romeo kissed Kira, he said he wanted to pursue things with Jill in Paradise. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen her but I still think there’s something there with me and Jill,” Mario said. “But I’m afraid Kira will be here. As long as she doesn’t get in the way between me and Jill…”

Unfortunately, getting in the way is exactly what Kira did. Kira interrupted Romeo and Jill’s first conversation and even took Jill’s drink. Jill was pretty upset about all of it, especially because she said Kira’s always gone after guys Jill likes. Later on, Jill talked to Romeo about the whole situation. He told her he’s always liked Jill and that he didn’t like that Kira has “interfered with that.” Romeo and Jill kissed, but soon Kira cut their romantic moment short once again.

Even though Kira was “counting on a rose” from Romeo, he asked her to let him “pursue Jill in peace.” Kira agreed, but not before confronting Jill once more and telling her she felt “gaslit” by the whole situation. Kira eventually gave up the fight for Romeo, though, and proclaimed that her “shackles were off.” The Romeo, Kira, and Jill drama seems to be behind everyone... for now, at least.

Season 8 of Bachelor In Paradise airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.