Spoiler alert! This story discusses the August 4 episode of Bachelor in Paradise. If you’re not caught up, all of Season 10 can be streamed with a Hulu subscription.
Jesse Palmer has been teasing a big change to Bachelor in Paradise Season 10, and in the sixth episode, he finally revealed what is likely this revamped season’s biggest change — one couple has the chance to walk away with $500,000 at the end of the show. Not too much information was given as to exactly how this will happen, and I was left pretty confused by one big aspect of the format change.
Bachelor In Paradise Switches Up The Game By Introducing Big Money
This is the first time in Bachelor in Paradise history that a cash prize has been introduced. The host informed the remaining contestants at the beginning of the episode that aired August 4 on the 2025 TV schedule that no new cast members were coming to the resort. Basically everybody was locked in with their current partner and would be undergoing relationship tests en route to a potential half-million dollars. So my big question is: Why are they still doing rose ceremonies?
All of the couples competed in a compatibility challenge, where it was revealed one rose would be taken away from the rose ceremony. Bailey Brown and Jeremy Simon won the challenge, and with the women having the power this week (which, again, doesn’t make sense if they’re competing as couples), that meant Bailey, in effect, decided which of the bottom three couples to send home.
However, the powers that be at Bachelor in Paradise didn’t make it that easy. Instead, they still made each woman choose her partner at the rose ceremony at the end of the episode, including Faith Martin and Parisa Shifteh, the two people Bailey Brown chose to save. This left Leslie Fhima without a rose, and she and her partner Gary Levingston were eliminated.
Why The Rose Ceremony Made No Sense
So can someone explain to me why the women were still forced to hand out roses? It was pretty clear that Lea Cayanan didn’t want to give her rose to Jonathon Johnson after she realized he was leading her on while telling the other women they were just friends. However, without any other contestants, she still had to choose him as her partner.
Theoretically, could she have given her rose to someone else and switched up the teams? I don’t think so, and here’s why: When Bailey Brown revealed to Leslie Fhima that she would not be getting a rose, Leslie and Gary Levingston were made to leave immediately, before Parisa Shifteh was given the final rose to save Brian Autz. With that relationship seemingly on its dying breath as well, what if Parisa had wanted to save Gary?
Honestly, the big twist took a lot of wind out of the sails of Bachelor in Paradise. Many fans on X complained that introducing a cash prize was very “for the wrong reasons,” with one posting:
Making the show about money completely defeats the purpose. This is supposed to be about love, it’s not supposed to be a competition #BachelorInParadise #BIP pic.twitter.com/1DAmVQWciKAugust 5, 2025
For me it was just less fun overall. There were no Golden dance parties, no body shots. April Kirkwood made out with zero younger men. Instead we traded that in for study sessions of the couples cramming information about each other and watching Jeremy Simon and Brian Autz unknowingly compete over who could be the biggest douchebag on the beach.
According to the preview for next week’s episode, it looks like there might be even more changes to come. See for yourself below:
Maybe the couples aren’t as locked in as we thought they were? Either way, the Episode 6 rose ceremony made no sense, which was obvious when Lea Cayanan and Parisa Shifteh had no choice over who to give their roses to. It makes me wonder how well-thought-out the rest of the Season 10 twists will actually be.
There’s only one way to find out! Bachelor in Paradise returns at 8 p.m. ET next Monday, August 11, on ABC and streaming the next day on Hulu.
