Aug. 25--Naperville fitness trainer Justin Reich waded into the drama when he joined "Bachelor in Paradise" in Monday's episode.
Reich, 28, immediately stirred up trouble by asking Samantha Steffen on a date. Steffen was recently linked to Joe Bailey on the show, and Bailey was not ready to let Steffen go.
"I'm here on my mission, and I'm here to meet a girl," said Reich, who was eliminated last season on "The Bachelorette."
"Bachelor in Paradise" gathers "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette" castoffs at a Mexican resort and encourages them to make love connections. Contestants are eliminated when they fail to get a rose, and new suitors are regularly added to the mix.
Glen Ellyn native Mikey Tenerelli was cut from "Bachelor in Paradise" last week but returned in Sunday's episode for a second chance at love with Juelia Kinney.
Tenerelli and Kinney went on a date to see lucha libre wrestling in Guadalajara in Monday's episode. They spent the night together in a suite.
"Really couldn't ask for a better date with a better girl," said Tenerelli, 32.
"I think he's awesome," Kinney said.
After Monday's episode of "Bachelor in Paradise," ABC announced the next "Bachelor" will be Ben Higgins, a finalist on the last season of "The Bachelorette" with Kaitlyn Bristowe.
Chicagoan Nick Viall, who was runner-up the last two seasons of "The Bachelorette," told Us Weekly that "ABC made a great choice" picking Higgins, a Denver software salesman.
"I think he's one of the few people that actually lives up to the hype. He's a very sweet guy and now that he's the leading guy, I hope we get to see the other great sides of Ben. Ben has an edge and I hope that he shows it!"
