This season of Bachelor In Paradise — like all of them — has been full of drama. But some of the drama centered around a couple that no one really expected: Michael and Sierra. The two paired up pretty quickly after meeting on the beach, and it seemed like their relationship was going pretty strong. Fans were shocked when Michael decided to end things with Sierra right before the rose ceremony, but no one was as surprised as Sierra.
Watching it back, fans developed some conspiracy theories about the split, and Sierra jumped onto social media to share her own thoughts. Here's everything that went down.
8 Who Are Micheal And Sierra?
Michael Allio was on Katie Thurston's season of The Bachelorette. He quickly won over Bachelor Nation with his charm, dad jokes, and soul-touching story. Michael's wife, Laura, passed away from breast cancer several years ago. Since then, he's not only been trying to navigate life as a single dad without her by his side, but he's also been trying to get back into the dating game. Since he's only said "I love you" to Laura, it's been hard for him to get serious with someone new. Despite that struggle, he decided to give it a second chance on Bachelor In Paradise.
Sierra Jackson was on Clayton Echard's season of The Bachelor, but she was eliminated in week four. Sierra is a deeply emotional and serious person — she came to Bachelor In Paradise looking for love, and fans could see from the start how committed she was to forming a deep connection and starting a family.
7 What Was Their Relationship Like In Paradise?
As mentioned, Michael and Sierra's connected formed early on, and Michael even noted that they seemed to have an instant connection. In episode 2, they shared a heart-to-heart about Michael's past, and Sierra noted that any relationship he has moving forward wouldn't be replacing the one that he had with Laura. They also talked about Sierra's past, too, though it wasn't aired.
Michael then chose to give Sierra his rose at the first rose ceremony, and it seemed as if the couple was getting stronger and stronger from that point on. Some fans even speculated that they'd be one of the couples to make their love last outside of the show.
6 Why Did Micheal Choose To End Things?
It seemed like things were going great between the two until Michael became wary about some things that Sierra started saying about their future — like speculating what life would be like for her as a step-mother. Given Michael's past, it was clear that this conversation made him have second thoughts. He began talking to others about how he thought he and Sierra's relationship was moving too fast, and that's when he decided to end things.
Eventually, Michael sat down with Sierra to vocalize these thoughts and tell her that he just wants to be friends, but not before Sierra gifted him a heartfelt gift of stars to symbolize that he, Laura, and his son will always be together. It was such a thoughtful gift, and so devastating to watch the breakup that followed.
5 How Did Sierra React To The Breakup?
Obviously, Sierra was upset, but she respected Michael's decision. She expressed the sentiment that when you truly care about someone, you let them go. In considering what was best for herself, she also decided to leave the beach. While this was hard for her, she said that she didn't feel like she could form a connection with anyone else, and she didn't want to watch Michael do so with other girls.
4 What Happened After Sierra Left?
After Sierra left, it seemed as if Michael wasn't going to receive a rose. After all, everyone had expected him to be getting one from Sierra. But then, right before the rose ceremony, Danielle Maltby was introduced to the beach, and she and Michael seemed to hit it off. She ended up giving Michael a rose, and they went on a date the next day.
While they were gone, the rest of the beach went into "split week". Essentially, this meant that the girls were leaving Paradise to go to a hotel while 5 new girls were brought to the beach for the guys to meet, and 5 new guys were brought in for the girls. Danielle and Michael were completely left out of this split, and they returned to a new set of girls on the beach after their date.
3 Who Is Danielle Maltby?
Danielle Maltby was a contestant on Nick Viall's season of The Bachelor in 2017. She was eliminated in week 7, but went on to Bachelor In Paradise right after. She ended up leaving that season of BIP in week two.
Danielle has returned to the beach again for one more shot at love on season 8 of Bachelor In Paradise, where she's already seemed to form a connection with Michael. What drew the two together was their shared past — just as Michael lost his wife, Danielle lost her fiancé to an overdose. She and Michael seemed to bond on their first date by talking about how they've navigated the dating scene amidst the grief.
2 What Has Sierra Said About The Whole Situation?
Michael's situation has seemed to stir up some drama for a few reasons: he ended things with Sierra because he didn't feel ready for a serious relationship, yet stayed on the beach to pursue one; he was, as fans seemed to put it, essentially 'gifted' a rose so that he could stay on the show after ending things with Sierra; and him and Danielle did not have to go through the stress of split week like everyone else on the beach. All that being said, the first point is the one that Sierra's been most vocal about.
Sierra has posted a few Instagram Reels in response to the recent episodes of BIP. In these videos, she calls out some of the things that Michael told her when he ended their relationship. In her most recent one, she speculates that some of the things Michael told her weren't the truth, and really, he "never saw anything" with her and "just needed to kill time" — essentially, she thought he was pulling another Brendan and Pieper scheme from season 7 of BIP.
The caption on her video says, I hadn’t thrown shade before… but THIS is me throwing it. Forward & onward now - Just wanted to get it out of my system & remind y’all I’m sweet, sour, far from perfect, and keep it real".
1 Has Michael Responded?
Micheal recently responded to a recent TikTok conspiracy theory where he addressed some of the rumors being circulated about the BIP split. In the video, he wrote "Taking a rose when you're [sic] heart's not in it is 'leading someone on'". He also added, "Choosing to end my only relationship when I was gifted a constellation and didn't have a rose was not a 'good look' but I knew that." He also agreed with the TikTok conspirators point that he was not aware that Danielle would be coming to the beach, essentially denying Sierra's claim that he was using her to kill time.
In the end, though, he concluded, "I still should [have] handled the breakup better, that's on me."
