Get to Know 'Bachelor' and 'Bachelor in Paradise' Contestant Caelynn Miller-Keyes

The 23rd season of The Bachelor was crazy—culminating, of course, in Fence Jump 2k19, and our virgin Colton straight up quitting the show. But I was always fascinated by one of the contestants in particular: Caelynn Miller-Keyes. She wowed the former football star right away and got the second rose of the first night, ultimately placing fourth. She made such an impact, in fact, that she's about to have a second Bachelor Nation run as an original cast member of Bachelor in Paradise (more on that below). So what do we know about this former Miss North Carolina, who's about to show up on our screens again this summer? 

She's from the South.

According to her Bachelor profile, Miller-Keyes grew up in Fredericksburg, Virginia, got her degree in broadcast journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University, and now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, as a social media consultant.

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She is close with her family, according to Hollywood Life, and actually overcame a childhood illness when she was very young. Apparently Miller-Keyes comes from a line of driven women, because her grandmother (who's also her mentor) was the first woman to be head of the FBI in Los Angeles, California.

She was first runner-up in the Miss USA Pageant.

In late 2017, Miller-Keyes was crowned Miss North Carolina USA for 2018. Filming The Bachelor actually caused her to miss crowning the new Miss North Carolina USA, stirring up a bit of controversy. 

In May 2018, she competed in Miss USA and just lost out to Sarah Rose Summers, Miss Nebraska. Miller-Keyes was super gracious about the loss to Summers on social media, saying that the two were buddies in real life and telling Summers to "go kill it as Miss USA, and win Miss Universe so we can be roomies."

She's friends with her fellow Miss USA contestants.

Or at least, based on what we can see from Instagram, which never lies to us. In addition to being friends with Summers, she's also pals with Miss New Jersey, Alexa Noone, and Miss Nevada, Carolina Urrea.

And then, of course, there's Miss Alabama Hannah Brown, whose friendship with Caelynn...soured, to say the least.

She nabbed the first kiss from Colton.

It was an intense premiere of The Bachelor. There was a sloth, a scary bachelorette with the same name as me (ugh) who kept stealing time away from the other ladies, and not one but three kisses. And Miller-Keyes was the first! She impressed Underwood right away, introducing herself with her Miss North Carolina sash that she turned around to read "Miss Underwood" (clever!). She was clearly smitten, saying he had a "calming energy."

She advocates for survivors.

According to the Miss Universe website, because of her personal history Miller-Keyes is "a dedicated advocate for sexual assault prevention by speaking to high school and college students about the importance of consent."

Caelynn received a ton of Bachelor screen time early on thanks to her feud with fellow pageant star Hannah Brown (you may know her as The Bachelorette, NBD), but she received national attention in the aftermath of her one-on-one with Colton, during which Caelynn bravely opened up about her sexual assault in college. Described as a "turning point" in the season by our Bachelor recapper Amanda Mitchell, Caelynn sharing her story with both Colton and the viewers cemented her as one of the season's most beloved, and admired, contestants.

She made it far on The Bachelor. 

Caelynn ultimately made it to hometowns, where she introduced Colton to her family and her stepdad (did anyone else cry when they were talking about how he's her real father? I know that wasn't just me?!). She told Colton she loved him, and explained to producers that she "saw it," meaning the future of their relationship—but Caelynn ultimately didn't make it to Fantasy Suite week. She placed fourth, telling Colton she felt blindsided, and the two didn't see each other again until The Women Tell All.

And now she's on Bachelor in Paradise!

Caelynn ended up being a strong fan favorite, and looks like (based on footage so far) she's a good fit for BiP. "Paradise was great, it was horrible and great at the same time," Caelynn told E! News—some spoilers at that link, though. "Whether or not I'm in a relationship or not, you will just have to wait and stay tuned and watch on Aug. 5."

She's already caught Dean Unglert's eye.

Yup, that Dean, who grew an intriguing mustache for the show:

I know this because he has since shaved it off. Cool, man. Anyways, Dean-Caelynn isn't really a spoiler, since it's in the show trailer:

Because apparently his mustache "swept Caelynn off her feet." Caelynn's name is also mentioned around the Blake drama (he's apparently trying to get with or got with a whole bunch of people, yikes) and she's also seen as a bystander during the actual fistfight that happens on set—spoilers at that link.

Here's every spoilery thing we know about Caelynn and the other cast members on the (sure to be) wild season of BiP. 

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