Paradise is almost here! With Katie Thurston well on her way to finding love on The Bachelorette, the fans of Bachelor Nation are starting to turn their attention to Bachelor in Paradise, especially now that we know which Bachelorette castoffs will be making their way to Mexico. And one of the recently announced cast members, Tré Cooper, continues to seemingly have the purest intentions heading onto the beach.
Tré Cooper was one of the late additions to Season 7 of the Bachelor in Paradise cast, as well as Aaron Clancy, James Bonsall and “bad kisser” Connor Brennan. They joined Karl Smith, who was part of the original cast announcement. Cooper, a fan favorite from Thurston’s season, recently told US Weekly why he decided to give love another shot on reality TV.
I think that [finding The One] was the only reason why I decided to go to Paradise. I could go on a trip to Mexico by myself and not be subjected to maybe the stress, or, you know, whatever comes to Paradise.
Finding love is supposed to be the main point of joining Bachelor in Paradise, but, come on. These contestants basically get paid to go on vacation with their friends. Add free drinks, attractive singles, and national exposure, and it really doesn’t matter what your intentions are. So, it’s no surprise that past seasons of Bachelor in Paradise have seen guys working more on their bromances than their romances. Tré Cooper makes a good point, saying that joining the show comes with a certain amount of pressure that could be avoided if you weren’t being followed around by cameras.
And, sure, it’s easy to say you’re going to Paradise for the right reasons, but I believe Tré Cooper, based on his actions on The Bachelorette. When Thomas Jacobs revealed that he’d thought of becoming The Bachelor even before meeting Katie Thurston, many people inside and outside of Bachelor Nation said that was true of all contestants. But, Cooper rejected that line of thinking, saying during the “Men Tell All” episode that he was merely hoping to make it through the first rose ceremony. He also made the point that the women in Paradise have already been “vetted,” just as he and all the men were in order to be on The Bachelorette.
That’s not to say there won’t be drama. Tré Cooper teased that the strong personalities from Katie Thurston’s season will definitely hold their own on the beach.
There’s a million percent going to be tension. You know, the guys from our season — it's me, a very strong-willed person to speak my mind, Aaron, a very strong-willed person, James, you know, and then you've got Connor, who's the songbird of our house. We had our own identity when we went out there, you know, Katie's guys, and we made our stamp. [Plus], Karl brings a very maniac energy to everything.
Well we know Karl Smith is capable of stirring the pot, but I'm here for the "maniac energy!" Whether Tré Cooper or any of his housemates from The Bachelorette find love in Paradise is something we'll just have to wait to find out.
Bachelor in Paradise returns to ABC at 8 p.m. ET August 16 with a variety of guest hosts. Before that, though, there’s still plenty of drama to come on The Bachelorette, as Katie Thurston nears the end of her journey. The Bachelorette airs at 8 p.m. ET Mondays on ABC. Check out our 2021 fall TV schedule to see when your other favorite shows are coming.
