Tarzan seems to have found his Jane.
When Bachelor in Paradise stars Jacob Rapini and Jill Chin were reunited at taping of the show’s reunion on November 4th (the episode aired on television November 22nd), Jacob ended their interview by scooping Jill into his arms and carrying her off stage. Apparently they’re still together, and going strong, according to Us Magazine.
Jill and Jacob were both early arrivals to Playa Escondida Resort in Mexico. They each walked down the stairs leading to the beach in week one of Bachelor in Paradise Season 8, but didn’t connect until episode five. Their first date was very quirky, perfect for the definitely odd pair. The couple went on a “full moon date,” where they both got naked and did tantric breathing meditation. Not like any first date I’ve ever been on, but this is the alternate universe which is Bachelor Nation.
Following the successful outing and a rose ceremony, Jacob and Jill came up against a major roadblock, when host Jesse Palmer announced that the women would be “leaving Paradise immediately” to spend the week at a different resort (posher and with actual AC), while a new group of female contestants would be brought in to flirt with their men.
While Jill spent most of “Split Week” at the new hotel crying in her bed and refusing to interact with any of the shiny new men brought in to entertain/tempt the transplanted women, Jacob was back on the beach in Paradise canoodling with Kate Gallivan, a California real estate agent and gold digger who’s looking for a guy whose bank account she can fall in love with.
Even though Jacob‘s romance with Kate didn’t last long (as she soon moved on to videographer Logan Palmer), Jill packed her bags and left the show in a huff.
The Bachelorette Season 19 alum admitted that he had regrets about how things ended with Jill. “Obviously, at that point, Kate and I were no longer, and I was perfectly fine with that. I wish I had tried to pursue us as just a couple. Getting engaged at the end, probably not, but us as an actual relationship where we could be, you know, just talking and having fun with each other like we were before. I kind of do wish that [we] continued things,” Jacob explained. “What I did there was I said, ‘OK, look, I don’t want to lead you on anymore. I want you to see if you can find your soulmate here.’ I didn’t want her to leave right away. I didn’t think she would leave right away. But after what happened with her and Romeo [Alexander (with whom Jill had briefly spent time before getting together with Jacob] and then having a relationship with her and I, Jill just said, ‘You know what? Enough is enough. I gotta go.’ I still wish I had just said, ‘Let’s just see what you and I have.'”
After filming of BIP ended later in the summer, the couple reconnected and announced their status during the reunion. Additionally, both of their respective Bachelor Nation Wiki pages reflect their status as dating each other “since November 2022.”
“We just started talking. We talked on the phone every other day, like, outside of Paradise,” Jacob went on. “It’s fun . . . We said to ourselves, no pressure whatsoever, but we’re open to having a relationship.”
Jill added that they are working on their communication. “We are exploring it. I think it’s really in its infancy right now, so we just have to see. We have to explore more. We have to have more conversations, go on dates, spend some quality time together and then decide from there. But so far, things are good,” she said. “I think [our next step is] communicating our needs and our feelings. Getting to know him on a deeper level. On the beach, I didn’t get to know him terribly deeply, but even last night, we had such a great conversation. I just think spending more time together. We’re gonna have to do a couple trips, so I think a couple trips are in the future for sure. And then we’ll see what happens from there.”
There seems to be a lot more to this couple than we saw on the show. They sound like they’re headed in the right direction, just having a “normal” dating relationship, rather than being focused on getting engaged after only knowing each other a few weeks.
Jill and Jacob are an odd couple who just might go the distance. Now if Jacob can only keep his clothes on in public . . .
TELL US – DID YOU THINK JILL AND JACOB WOULD ACTUALLY STILL BE TOGETHER AFTER PARADISE? DO YOU LIKE THEM AS A COUPLE?
