Bachelor Nation, listen up! We’ve got some tea for you…
ICYMI, this week’s episode of The Bachelor followed Colton Underwood and his lovely ladies to Thailand, where a few contestants really separated themselves from the pack.
It also became crystal clear blonde stunner Cassie Randolph is a front-runner for Colton’s heart… but who knew she was actually on a different reality TV show before appearing on ABC‘s hit franchise?
Related: ‘Bachelor’ Alum Evil Chad Says Jojo & Jordan Knew Each Other Before The Show!
Randolph was reportedly on a show called Young Once, which follows the lives of young Christians living in Southern California. The show is currently in its second season, airing on Castle, a Christian-based online platform.
Season 1 introduces us to Cassie and her ex-boyfriend Caelan Tiongson and follows the highs and lows of their relationship as Cassie debates her academic future. The two dated on-and-off while Cassie was a speech-pathology student at Biola University.
Whoa!
Conveniently enough, news of the 23-year-old’s previous reality TV stint broke the same night she got hot and heavy with ABC’s leading man. Fans of the franchise lost their collective minds when promo ads for Young Once‘s second season, in which Cassie appears, were suddenly everywhere all at once.
Tiongson addressed the controversy in an Instagram post on Monday night, telling his followers this absolutely wasn’t a coincidence but a tactic to stir up drama. He wrote:
“Make no mistake that Young Once was filmed before The Bachelor, and the fact that they are airing at the same time is a strategy to attract viewers.”
He goes on to speak nothing but positive things about his ex, in the lengthy post (below):
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtioPVMHvzd/?utm_source=ig_embed
Then, on Wednesday, Cassie clarified his comments. She shared:
“I’m getting a lot of questions about my ex and a docuseries we filmed before Bachelor. While I don’t feel it is necessary that I share all the details, a lot of people are curious and the worst thing is false rumors. I didn’t want to address this without his permission, but he posted about it today so I think it’s good if I do too.”
She continued:
“Caelan and I dated all through college and in 2015 we filmed Young Once. A while after our breakup we put our past behind us and became friends again. We share a lot of mutual friends and he is close to my family. We both dated other people and had moved on. While we were never officially a couple again, there was a time last spring that we considered getting back together, but that didn’t work out. I was open to staying friends, but he understandably thought this was too hard. Just because we didn’t work out doesn’t mean we now hate each other and don’t care about the other. It just wasn’t right for us. Since I was the one saying we couldn’t be together, this was extra hard for him. Relationships are complicated and navigating isn’t usually straight forward. We were on and off for so long that turning it off for good was a difficult decision as I truly didn’t want to regret giving up if we were meant to be. But certain things were unhealthy and it became clear we were supposed to move on. Over the summer, unexpectedly and out of the blue, we were contacted by [Young Once] and learned they were considering a S2- a follow up on some of the original cast. This again put Caelan and I directly back in each other’s lives as our social circle overlaps. One of the storylines highlighted is our drawn out/complex relationship and the challenges of us staying friends post breakup and whether it is possible or not. We filmed for several weeks prior to Caelan heading to Asia to play pro basketball and before I found out that I was cast for Bachelor. “The timing of everything was completely chance. I care very much about Caelan and I want nothing but the best for him and his life.”
Okay, so these two dated before Cassie competed on The Bachelor. But we’re definitely intrigued!
Since this news comes after both shows have already been shot and aired, we have to wonder what the other current contestants are thinking now…
Will you guys check out Young Once? Does this whole thing turn you off from rooting for Cassie? Does she still deserve a shot with Colton?
Sound OFF in the comments (below)!
[Image via Young Once/YouTube]
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