A proudly Canadian take on ‘Paradise’
Toronto ‘Bachelor’ veteran reflects on new addition to franchise
As the bartender on the new dating show “Bachelor in Paradise Canada,” Kevin Wendt had the commiserating part of his duties well in hand.
After all, the 37-year-old Toronto firefighter has been through three “Bachelor” series with mixed results, enough to show new love seekers the ropes. He got engaged on “The Bachelorette Canada” in 2016 but soon split with star Jasmine Lorimer; then he and fan favourite Ashley Iaconetti called it quits after “Bachelor Winter Games,” but the third time was the charm on the U.S. “Bachelor in Paradise” where he met American fiancée Astrid Loch in 2018.
“This cast (of ‘Bachelor in Paradise Canada’) would have seen me as someone who’s been through the wringer and I was definitely there to help the cast get the most out of their experience,” Wendt said.
When it came to bartending, however, Wendt had to lean on Loch, 31, with whom he’s expecting a baby in November.
“I’m definitely an expert at ordering drinks,” Wendt chuckled during a phone interview, “but I got some coaching from my lovely bride at home. She was a bartender at college. She gave me the crash course on the drinks that the cast would probably want.”
Wendt and host Jesse Jones are confident the new series — the third iteration of a “Bachelor” show on this side of the border — will have a mix that appeals to fans.
For the uninitiated, “Bachelor in Paradise” is a spinoff of reality TV juggernauts “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” The original has been on the air since 2002, 25 seasons and counting, while “The Bachelorette” debuts its 18th season on Oct. 19 on Citytv.
The OG “Bachelor in Paradise” just ended its seventh season last Tuesday with another Canadian-American romance, as Torontonian Serena Pitt got engaged to Chicago native Joe Amabile (they were in Toronto this past week, by the way; Wendt and Loch had dinner with them). Whereas the parent shows feature one star dating multiple, opposite-sex suitors in the hopes of finding “the one,” “Paradise” throws past cast members together at a resort for a few weeks to pair up.
The drama comes from keeping the numbers of men and women uneven and bringing in new arrivals every week to tempt established couples.
“Bachelor in Paradise Canada” will maintain that format, but with one big difference: there weren’t enough Canadian “Bachelor” alums to fully cast the show — there’s been just one season of “Bachelorette Canada” and three of “Bachelor Canada,” the last in 2017 — so some American ringers were added, as well as 14 franchise fans to fill out the roster. Wendt said that’s a good thing. “You’ll get that really pure first-time-on-TV feel here. I don’t think you’ll get the ‘fresh off a ‘Bachelor’ season, looking for some Instagram followers, I’ve met everybody at parties’ and all that stuff,” he said. “People show up and this is their first experience with this show, this beach, this cast. And I think it kind of brings us back to what the show is all about, which is just a great social experiment of single people and kind of see where it takes you.”
Jones, a TV host, entrepreneur and public speaker who’s new to the “Bachelor” franchise but sometimes watches the shows with his grandmother, was impressed by how open the cast members were to the experience.
“I think the most fascinating thing was that who someone comes in as might be very different across the journey,” he said.
“Things happen, emotions come, things change and it was just very interesting seeing that process evolve throughout the season. All of that emotion is real, all of the tea that’s spilled is real … it’s going to be juicy as it unfolds.”
But aside from the drama, the show is “really built around acceptance and love, and you can’t go wrong with that. I think we need more of that right now,” Jones said.
Wendt had a front-row seat to a lot of the drama since the main “hangout” area was his bar.
But whereas the American version is shot at a Mexican resort, the Canadians mingled at a lakeside Ontario “love nest,” which is as specific as Citytv will get about the location.
That had its advantages: “In Mexico, all you do is sweat and fight off crabs all the time,” Wendt said about the crustaceans that inundate the beach. Here, it wasn’t too hot or too cold; “that perfect summer Canada setting.”
The crabs weren’t missed, but Wendt said he encountered “a couple of friendly skunks.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing during summer filming, Wendt and Jones were in a bubble with the cast “and we all bonded pretty quickly,” Wendt said.
Plus, they were on “Bachelor” time: “two, three days together is like weeks or even sometimes months in the outside world,” he added.
(Asked if Loch, who’s friends with American cast member Angela Amezcua, joined him at “Camp Paradise,” Wendt was coy: “That is something you will have to find out when you watch. It might be a good surprise.”)
What he’s most excited about, he said, is the Canadian twist the series put on the American franchise.
“Every fan of the franchise watching from Canada will almost be a little proud to see how much representation there is from coast to coast … people are impressed at the cast list because it is so diverse. So many people will (feel) represented.
“I think Canada will be really happy with our own franchise and hopefully it grows year after year, and we get behind our own ‘Bachelor’ train and not just be watching the U.S. one,” Wendt said.
And if there is more than one season of “Bachelor in Paradise Canada,” Wendt hopes to be behind the lakeside bar, whipping up a mean Bloody Caesar or Moscow Mule.
“Bachelor in Paradise Canada” debuts Sunday at 8 p.m. on Citytv. Debra Yeo will recap that and “The Bachelorette” at realityeo.com