What Happened With Blake Horstmann & Caelynn Miller-Keyes Before 'Bachelor in Paradise'?

Spoilers for Bachelor in Paradise season six ahead. The Bachelor in Paradise drama is already predictably crazy, and one particularly epic situation stars the one and only Blake Horstmann. Based on show footage, he seems to have found himself in a romantic "entanglement" (if that is not the understatement of the century, I don't know what is) between a grand total of four women—which started with his behavior before the show and continues during filming. Woof. And all of that blew up in his face Tuesday night, when Caelynn confronted him, sobbing, about his actions and how much they hurt her.

If the entire situation is making you go, Say what now?, you're not alone. Let's break out the situation and what might have potentially happened, as well as Blake's response to the whole thing.  

Here's what MIGHT have happened before the show.

So, we're hearing the word "Stagecoach" a lot, which is a music festival where apparently a lot of Bachelor Nation folks were hanging out (which is code for fun romantic times, I'm thinking). Blake, according to Kristina and Caelynn, hooked up with both of them just a day apart. Neither was dating Blake exclusively, although Caelynn said on the show that she thought they were having some sort of relationship, in her eyes.

Here are Caelynn and Kristina at Stagecoach:

There are rumors that Blake was also texting and/or spending time with Tayshia and Hannah B. before the show (and that he and Tayshia might have had interactions at Stagecoach, too), although the show doesn't mention it.

Here's what happened on the show.

Blake was drama-filled from episode 1, and pursued several women in the first two episodes, including Hannah and Tayshia. He also went on a date with Kristina, who confronted him about hooking up with her and Caelynn in close proximity. Caelynn also confronted Blake, saying he made her feel like a “f—ing dirty secret.”

“I feel like a slimy, disgusting secret that you’re ashamed of. You literally told me to lie for you,” she told him. She also, multiple times, mentioned how he referred to her or their hookup as a "mistake."

Blake later said in a one-on-one interview, "It looks like [Caelynn and I] slept together and I bolted. And that wasn’t what happened. Sometimes you try to do the right thing. I didn’t want to disrespect Caelynn, I didn’t want to disrespect Kristina. Man, this is bad. I look like the worst human in the world."

It's important to note here that the show is pretty heavily edited (and also that there are hookups that aren't shown—like, I feel like everyone is chatting/making out with everyone at these early stages, not just Blake), which is why last night, during the second episode, Blake took to social media to challenge the representation of the situation.

Blake shared text messages that seem to show something different.

In a long Instagram post, Blake admitted he'd done some things on the show he wasn't proud of. "I take full responsibility for my actions at Stagecoach and will forever regret the decision I made that weekend." With that said, he said he wanted to tell his truth. "I NEVER ghosted Caelynn, I NEVER called her a mistake and I absolutely NEVER EVER EVER silenced Caelynn."

He then absolutely went there, sharing screenshots of texts messages that seem to show Caelynn interested in hooking up, with a full understanding of the situation. He also shared an interaction a week before the show in which they both debate whether to go public about their hookup. At one point Caelynn says, "If we play it off as not being a big deal then it’s not. Everyone hooks up in this world," but then she later admits to being "stressed" about it.

Blake also shared a video in which he quietly, seemingly at the point of tears, said that this was the last thing he wanted to do. "I feel I have no other choice," he admitted, saying that perhaps the show had spliced together scenes of Caelynn that were inaccurate, and he wanted her to have the chance to tell her side.

Blake subsequently deleted the tweets.

In an Instagram story posted a couple hours later, Blake begged people to stop attacking Caelynn and said he was getting rid of the posts.

Caelynn has finally commented.

Welp, this is another wrinkle in the situation: Caelynn took to Instagram last night and basically refuted what Blake had said. "I am not here to deny those text messages or the conversations that took place," she wrote, saying that "a large part of the story is missing."

"Blake was not a one night stand at a music festival and the ‪5 am‬ text exchange that Blake chose to share is not an accurate representation of our past relationship," she added. "I am absolutely mortified our private texts were put out there for the world to see and judge by someone who I trusted and consider a friend nonetheless."

She added that her truth of the relationship was that she and Blake were, in fact, serious together. "We started talking months before Stagecoach. We FaceTimed everyday and talked about potentially skipping Paradise to be together." But, Caelynn says she's ready to move on.

I genuinely, honestly, have no idea how to feel here—the show is edited heavily and leaves some ambiguity to validate either perspective. Also interesting: Blake apparently hoped to hide the hookups in a potential quest to become the Bachelor after this season of BiP. But, since Chris Harrison called him a "dumpster fire" this season, I...don't think that's happening.

Dean was vocally opposed to Blake's actions.

Dean, who's connecting with Caelynn on the show and rumored to be dating her post-show, completely slammed Blake for his actions. "I’ve got a big issue with the text messages...he took private text messages between him and another girl who did not consent to him releasing these text messages and blasted them publicly for his 600,000 followers. Then it got picked up by news outlets, which then gets blasted out to millions more."

He added. “Publishing and publicizing private text messages without the consent of the other person, as a public figure, is one of the most disgraceful things I think he could possibly do. I think it’s almost equivalent to sharing someone’s nude [photos].”

Dean went even further: “It’s an obvious form of slut-shaming,” he said. “Now Caelynn’s parents and her sisters and her friends are going to have to see these messages. Again, it’s nonconsensual from her part.”

“There are a million ways that Blake could have gone about sharing his side of the story and the worst way of those million is by sharing those text messages,” he added. “The only reason he’s doing this is to make strangers like him more.” WOW.

And Nick Viall thinks the whole thing was premeditated.

Nick, who is not involved in the situation, said he heard about the situation from other members of Bachelor Nation at Jared and Ashley's wedding on August 11. "I know by talking to a lot of people over the weekend that Blake admitted, ‘I know that she is going to look bad'...I know that he threatened people about releasing these text messages for months in anticipations coming up, which makes it all that more premeditated.”

“Then he ended up deleting it when it got really nasty, but it’s not like he didn’t realize. This whole idea, ‘I didn’t think this would affect her the way it did’—he knew. He admitted to it. There’s texts out here of him saying this,” he added. He didn't excuse either of their behavior, but said that Blake may have been aiming to steer his reputation towards being like Ben Higgins (a.k.a. a sweet fan fave) instead of a huge playboy. But things really got away from him, and it all totally backfired on him in the end.

Here's every spoilery thing we know about this season.

For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter.

SUBSCRIBE HERE