Entertainment

Dean's 'BiP' Exit Shows He Still Has A Lot To Learn About Love

by Nicole Pomarico
ABC

Dean Unglert is once again leaving Bachelor In Paradise with a trail of heartbreak behind him. On Tuesday night, Dean went home on BiP after having a difficult conversation with Caelynn. He had a valid reason for eliminating himself, but it would have been even better if he hadn't come in the first place.

The fact that Dean decided to make his exit was truly out of left field after the day he and Caelynn had. He went out of his way to make her birthday special, and then, at the end of the night, he pulled her aside to tell her that he'd never be able to give her the relationship she was looking for and that she deserved someone better than him. He wanted her to be free to find someone who could offer her what she was looking for, and decided that the right thing to do would be for him to go home.

Dean framed it as if he was trying to be a better man, and yes, going home is a better choice than leading Caelynn on or ending up in another disastrous love triangle. But what would have been an even smarter choice if he was really trying to change? Not going on BiP at all, being that it's a place where people generally tend to get engaged or, at the very least, find relationships that they want to explore in the real world. But that wasn't what Dean was interested in; he was there for a good time, not a long time.

Caelynn was visibly devastated, and it lasted well into the next day, when she found consolation in the other women who had watched all of this play out. Like Caelynn told Dean when he made his breakup speech, she had hoped he might change his mind about having a relationship with her as their time together progressed, but unfortunately, it didn't.

Ultimately, Dean did make the right decision — it's far better to let Caelynn down now rather than later if he knew they weren't looking for the same thing. However things might have played out, the longer Dean stayed, the harder it would have been for Caelynn to move on and open herself to other men as they came in.

It was a heartbreaking moment for Caelynn, and Dean didn't exactly look happy as he got in the car to leave, either. But if Dean truly doesn't want a relationship, it really is for the best that he left — even if the right decision would have been not to come to Mexico at all. If he has grown as a person and knows himself well enough to know that he isn't looking for commitment, why not just stay home?

At this point, all that matters is that he's gone, and Caelynn is now free to find a connection with someone else — which she did as soon as Connor came sauntering into Chris and Krystal's wedding. Perhaps there's a happy ending for her in Paradise yet to come.