‘Bachelor in Paradise’: Lance Bass Says ‘Bye, Bye, Bye’ to the Beach, but Not Without Leaving a Surprise
Five episodes into the season and Bachelor in Paradise has already cycled through two guest hosts. After opening season 7 with comedian David Spade, the series welcomed Lance Bass to host the following three episodes. In the fifth episode, Bass exited the series but not without bringing in a surprise that stunned contestants.
Lance Bass was the second celebrity guest host on ‘Bachelor in Paradise’
Following veteran host Chris Harrison’s permanent exit from The Bachelor franchise, ABC hired four new hosts. While they all come from outside the franchise, Spade and Bass are admittedly fans of the series.
After Bass’ tenure, the show will welcome Tituss Burgess and Lil Jon as hosts. Wells Adams, the show’s bartender and master of rose ceremonies, will also perform hosting duties.
Bass brought in a ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ first
As a longtime fan of the show, Bass was thrilled to be considered for the hosting job.
“When they asked me to do Paradise, I jumped at the chance because I’m a freak fan … I think it’s just so fun,” he told People. “Walking onto that beach for the first time, it took me 10 minutes to really kind of compose myself and not be like, the biggest freak fan.”
Through Bass, fans got to experience a different hosting style. Spade spent much of his time dryly poking fun at the contestants. For his part, Bass sought to give them earnest advice.
“I hope I’m giving the best advice. Like, I hope when I’m saying, ‘Oh, I see that they really like you,’ that they really do like them, because now it’s going to fall back on my shoulders, right?” he said. “[And then they’ll say,] ‘But Lance told me that he really liked me!’ So I hope I did the right thing.”
As a superfan, Bass couldn’t leave without doing his part to make Bachelor in Paradise Season 7 the most dramatic season yet.
“I’m gonna leave you with one last surprise,” Bass told contestants at the rose ceremony. “And this is a big one. This is gonna change everything.”
Bass proceeded to welcome Becca Kufrin, the former bachelorette. With her arrival, she becomes the first-ever bachelorette to join the competition in Paradise. Bass quietly exited after Kufrin’s arrival but managed to completely shake up the competition.
Lance Bass wants to host a season of ‘The Bachelor’
Though Bass is done with his hosting stint on Bachelor in Paradise, he said he would be open to a more permanent position on the show.
“I think maybe it’s the time for The Bachelor to do a gay Bachelor,” Bass told Variety. “I think that would be so much fun. And I definitely know a host if you need it.”
He added that while he hasn’t spoken about his idea with anyone in the franchise, he would be “so down” to host.
“They’re doing the seniors next, which I think is such a great idea. I like that they’re trying different things and I think the next step, the obvious step, would to be an LGBT version,” he said.
