SPOILERS ahead from Bachelor in Paradise 2019 Season 6.
This is either a great or a terrible time to be Derek Peth. He had a rough ride on Bachelor in Paradise Season 6, after getting dumped by Demi Burnett and then confronted by John Paul Jones over Tayshia Adams. But Derek is arguably one of the most popular guys in Bachelor Nation right now, with a recent call for him to be the 2020 Bachelor. (Sounds like that did not work, though.) Plus, he seems to have found true love off the show ... in a bromance with Wells Adams.
The now 32-year-old New York City resident -- who does look like Jim from The Office and he must hear that every day -- got his start on Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher's Season 12 in 2016, alongside Wells. Derek and Wells were Bachelorette roommates, and their friendship has definitely extended off the show. Wells is not just Bachelor in Paradise's resident bartender, he's also Derek's #1 champion.
Derek got engaged to Taylor Nolan during Bachelor in Paradise Season 4, but that romance didn't last, so he returned for Bachelor in Paradise Season 6 in summer 2019. Reality Steve's spoilers previewed what was to come for Derek, including Demi dumping him for her girlfriend back home (but still not leaving Paradise) and John Paul Jones getting in his face over his alleged treatment of women.
John Paul Jones accused Derek Peth of using his status to hook-up with women. He was worried Derek was just using Tayshia to have more fodder for his podcast. According to Steve, Derek ultimately left Paradise after another confrontation with JPJ.
So what is Derek doing now? Well, speaking of his podcast, he's doing more of that. His recent episode of "The Betchelor" podcast with Kay Brown was actually titled "JPJ Hates Our Podcast," with Wells as a special guest. You can listen to Derek go through the JPJ fight from his perspective, and Wells talks about their original Bachelorette season together and how he and Derek became close friends in real life.
Wells even recently posted a Derek Peth appreciation video, along with a campaign for Derek to be the next Bachelor:
You probably know that Bachelor in Paradise bartender Wells is now engaged to Modern Family star Sarah Hyland. She is also a big Bachelor fan and replied to Wells' video:
Only person I wouldn’t be jealous of by you making a montage video. ... DEREK FOR BACHELOR.
What else has Derek been up to? Only hanging out at Madison Square Garden with Wells and the Jonas Brothers:
Wells and Derek were part of the NYC action because Sarah Hyland got to perform at the Garden:
Derek admitted it's been tough to watch his ups and downs on Paradise. So he's been spending time with more Bachelor Nation friends -- including Sharleen Joynt and Michael Garofola for the "Here to Make Friends" podcast.
I've been loving John Paul Jones on Bachelor in Paradise, and was pleasantly surprised to read that he and Tayshia are one of the many couples still together after taping BiP 2019. But Derek won a lot of fans, so it will be interesting to hear his take on everything after Paradise on the reunion show. We're also supposed to get the big 2020 Bachelor announcement during the reunion special, but by now we've all probably seen that it's not Derek, and it's not Mike Johnson, and it's not even Tyler. It's Peter. And not even the Peter I like.
The Bachelor in Paradise 2019 reunion show will air Tuesday, September 17. As Reality Steve noted, that's 20 days after they taped the reunion, so some of the couples who were still together could've split up by then.
Catch up on the spoilers for every 2019 rose ceremony. Bachelor in Paradise Season 6 continues Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
