Jordan Kimball and Christian Estrada were both kicked out of Bachelor in Paradise over a brawl that seemingly escalated out of nowhere. For all the misleading previews the series has teased with the threat of physical violence, this time there was actually a payoff.
Kimball and Estrada have a past, although not a very memorable one. During the Men Tell All episode during Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette, Estrada jumped in on the segment when everyone was bashing Kimball for his over-the-top antics on the show. Kimball dismissed Estrada as a first-night boot whose opinion wasn’t valued, which caused Estrada to leave his seat and approach Kimball. The tensions didn’t boil over that night, but clearly there was some residue of contempt left on the production floor that night that would eventually come back into play more than a year later.
The fight broke out right in front of Nicole Lopez-Alvar, who had found herself in a love triangle with Estrada and Clay Harbor. Kimball, a friend of Harbor’s, decided to come to the defensive once Estrada denied Harbor more time with Lopez-Alvar. After tearing down Estrada’s piñata that he had set up for his beachside rendezvous with Lopez-Alvar, the interaction turned violent. Kimball slammed Estrada onto the sand before producers got involved and separated the testosterone-laced tussle.
Estrada was pinned to the ground while a heated Kimball was led away from the beach to cool down. Lopez-Alvar said to Onyeka Ehie, “I’m freaking out. I’m like literally in shock. I’m like shaking right now.” When a producer told each of the men that they were being sent home, they didn’t fight back. Kimball said, “I understand,” and Estrada said, “Alright, that’s fine.”
While the brawl was stopped soon after it began, it was still a first for a show that has seen many verbal altercations, but never any body blows. Every season, it seems, there’s an image of an ambulance or a bloodied face in the preview, setting up speculation that two contestants got in a fight. But those teasers never materialize into actual violence; they are almost always simply the result of a group date challenge gone awry.
While Kimball and Estrada are ultimately responsible for their actions, it’s really the format of the series itself that sets the stage for the potential of all-out fisticuffs. The fact that a fight broke out shouldn’t be seen as too much of a surprise. The honest shock is that throughout every season of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad, The Bachelor Winter Games, and Bachelor in Paradise, this is the first time something like this has happened.
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Bachelor In Paradise airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8pm EST on ABC.
Source: Bachelor Nation
