The 'Paradise' Finale Explained A LOT About All That Stagecoach Drama

You were probably taking a long nap on the beach of Bachelor in Paradise if you missed out on this season's connection to the Stagecoach country music festival. The festival was the setting of contestant Blake Horstmann's multiple hookups and flirtations with several women from the Paradise cast, and the cause of much drama early on in Season 6. Now, finally, the reunion episode of Bachelor in Paradise explained Blake, Kristina, and Caelynn's Stagecoach drama, and it's just as messy as you thought.

One season of Paradise might as well be worth an entire year in Bachelor Nation, so thinking back to the start of Season 6 is a little tricky. Long before he unsuccessfully pursued ex-girlfriend Kristina Schulman, former Bachelorette runner-up Blake got into trouble for his actions at the Stagecoach festival in April 2019. Kristina explained she and Blake had hooked up at the festival, and then Blake did the same thing with Caelynn Miller-Keyes the next night. Then, at the start of Season 6, Caelynn alleged that Blake had begged her to keep their own interactions a secret. (She also said Blake was messaging fellow Paradise star Hannah Godwin from their shared bed the morning following their Stagecoach rendezvous, but that is somehow a minor detail in all this).

Later, after these revelations blew over on the beach, Kristina and Blake agreed to give each other "friendship" roses, though when Blake later confessed he had again developed romantic feelings for Kristina, she called it quits and they both went home. Meanwhile, Caelynn had paired with Dean Unglert, and although he left the beach, claiming he couldn't give Caelynn what she wanted, Dean soon returned and asked Caelynn to leave with him. On Sept. 17's reunion show, Caelynn revealed she was still dating Dean, and she had even spent a few nights with him in his van However, her happy mood soured when the subject turned to the old Stagecoach drama with Blake.

Before Blake headed to the hot seat, Caelynn and Kristina clarified their connections to him before Stagecoach occurred. Kristina explained she and Blake had gone their separate ways before Stagecoach but were occasionally "more than friends." She said when they spent the night together at the festival, she wasn't aware he was seeing anyone else, which explains why she felt disrespected when he waited nearly a month to tell her about his dalliances with Caelynn.

Also during the reunion show, Caelynn shared that she had known about Blake and Kristina's history, but had believed things were over between them. She said she didn't learn about the two's Stagecoach hookup until a week or two before filming began, though Blake was aware that this entanglement could lead to trouble on Paradise.

In the hot seat, Blake revealed that he hadn't been sure how to address Stagecoach on Paradise. "I didn't want to talk about people's private sex lives to other people," he said. "I was surprised by the anger a lot of these women have."

Blake and Caelynn then began discussing the text exchange Blake shared during the beginning of the season in an attempt to expose more sides of the story that was playing out on screen. In August, he had posted (and then deleted) screenshots on Instagram of Caelynn's alleged messages to him that alluded casual sex during Stagecoach. Caelynn called Blake's sharing of the texts "slut-shaming," but Blake said he wasn't so sure about that label.

"How were you slut shaming me? Airing my 5 a.m. text messages!" Caelynn said.

"You were talking about my sex life on national television!" Blake retorted. "I released text messages to show my side! The whole situation sucks."

Although he didn't exactly apologize to Caelynn for sharing the texts, Blake ultimately offered an apology to the whole group, saying, "I didn't want to hurt you ... I am so sorry that you got attacked and I am so sorry you are feeling the way you are. I want to apologize to everybody."

The reunion later showed footage from the cast's commercial break in which Caelynn sought comfort in Dean, while Kristina tried to calm an upset Blake. It's clear this situation is still tough for those involved, but let's hope everyone has shared exactly what they need to before Stagecoach 2020 rolls around.

Season 24 of The Bachelor premieres in January 2020.