Bachelor in Paradise Season 7: Meet the official cast!

THE BACHELOR - Ò2504Ó Ð Still reeling from SarahÕs sudden departure, Matt fights his tendency to put up walls as his journey continues with the 18 remaining women vying for his heart. Emotions in the house continue to run high, leading to a trash-talking face-off between Victoria and Katie, and even former Bachelor Ben Higgins and Bachelor Nation favorite Wells Adams canÕt diffuse the drama as things get physical on two group dates. Chelsea takes the opportunity to get real with Matt about her journey to self-love, and Chris Harrison drops a bombshell that will change the course of the season on ÒThe Bachelor,Ó airing MONDAY, JAN. 25 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EST), on ABC. (ABC/Craig Sjodin)VICTORIA, MARI, ABIGAIL, ANNA, MATT JAMES
THE BACHELOR - Ò2504Ó Ð Still reeling from SarahÕs sudden departure, Matt fights his tendency to put up walls as his journey continues with the 18 remaining women vying for his heart. Emotions in the house continue to run high, leading to a trash-talking face-off between Victoria and Katie, and even former Bachelor Ben Higgins and Bachelor Nation favorite Wells Adams canÕt diffuse the drama as things get physical on two group dates. Chelsea takes the opportunity to get real with Matt about her journey to self-love, and Chris Harrison drops a bombshell that will change the course of the season on ÒThe Bachelor,Ó airing MONDAY, JAN. 25 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EST), on ABC. (ABC/Craig Sjodin)VICTORIA, MARI, ABIGAIL, ANNA, MATT JAMES

Bachelor in Paradise Season 7 is officially a reality as ABC announced the cast early this morning. Out of all the shows this franchise has had, this one is my absolute favorite and I’m so glad it’s finally making its epic return after a two-year hiatus. It’s been way too long, and after the last year or so this franchise has had, we’re ready for a literal breath of fresh air on the beaches of Paradise.

Things will be a bit different when the series returns on August 16 with multiple hosts. Yes, that’s right, multiple hosts. Since Chris Harrison is officially no longer a part of the Bachelor world, ABC had to come up with some fresh ideas on how to handle hosting duties.

So far, we’ve got David Spade, Lance Bass, Titus Burgess, and Lil Jon with Bachelor alum Wells Adams joining on as the Master of Ceremonies. This will be an interesting (and probably refreshing) change to the hosting because as much as I love Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe, they’re just not cutting it for me on The Bachelorette right now.

We know the hosts, we know the premiere date, and now we know the contestants. Take a peek below to see who will be joining Bachelor in Paradise Season 7–some of them just might surprise you.

Bachelor in Paradise Season 7 cast

(ABC/Craig Sjodin)
(ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Ivan Hall

Ivan appeared on Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams’ season of The Bachelorette. While Clare found love with Dale Moss, Ivan made it to Tayshia’s top 3 (and had that awkward and weird RV fantasy suite) but was ultimately sent home over religious differences.

Perhaps Bachelor in Paradise Season 7 will help this aeronautical engineer find the love of his life!

(ABC/Craig Sjodin)
(ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Jessenia Cruz

Remember Jessenia from Matt James’ season of The Bachelor? She was infamously known for getting into an argument with fellow contestant MJ over the bullying taking place in the house.

(ABC/Craig Sjodin)
(ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Abigail Heringer

If I am excited about anyone joining Bachelor in Paradise Season 7, it’s Abigail. She is the adorable, sweet, kind-hearted deaf girl that joined Matt’s season. Abigail has the cutest smile and even won Matt’s first impression rose. I have a feeling she’s going to make more than one impression while in Paradise.

(ABC/Craig Sjodin)
(ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Kenny Braasch

Kenny is the tatted boy band manager from Clare and Tayshia’s seasons. He didn’t quite fit into the world of The Bachelorette but I think he is going to do just fine in Paradise.

(ABC/Craig Sjodin)
(ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Victoria Larson

Aka, Queen Victoria, or so she says anyway. During Matt’s season, Victoria L. subjected everyone to her nightmarishly mean and rude ways and literally treated them like her subjects. I was really hoping we wouldn’t have to deal with her again, but I can’t say I’m surprised she’s heading to Bachelor in Paradise Season 7.

Sigh.

(ABC/Maarten de Boer)
(ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Deandra Kanu

Last seen on Peter Weber’s season of The Bachelor, Deandra rightfully called him out when he spent all his time with Alayah, who had returned to the show after being sent home. Let’s hope we see some of that no-nonsense attitude in Paradise!

Karl Smith
(ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Karl Smith

Ugh, do I even need to talk about this guy? He is the most recent villain to grace the Bachelor franchise and was recently sent home by Katie Thurston. He basically pointed fingers at another contestant citing he wasn’t here for the right reasons while lying to everyone else during the rose ceremony. I wish when I said good riddance it was actually going to stand true…

(ABC/Maarten de Boer)
(ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Natasha Parker

During Peter Weber’s season, Natasha finally snagged a one-on-one date with the Bachelor, only to be sent home shortly after. While her time on the show was a fleeting moment, I have come to respect her tremendously as a mental health advocate. She does so much philanthropic work outside of the show so I am actually very excited to see her return for Paradise!

(ABC/Maarten de Boer)
(ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Kelsey Weir

#ChampagneGate, that’s all I have to say.

(Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for The Gentle Barn)
(Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for The Gentle Barn)

Joe Amabile

Joe was last seen on Season 27 of Dancing With the Stars but is known to Bachelor Nation as “Grocery Store Joe”. He first appeared on Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette but was sent home on night one. He then cozied up to Kendall Long on the fifth season of Bachelor in Paradise but that relationship didn’t exactly work out.

So here we are again with Joe–in Paradise.

(ABC/Maarten de Boer)
(ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Victoria Paul

The nurse from Peter’s season of The Bachelor made an impression by contorting the truth as she so wished. She’d go off on rants about her truth and talk about taking Adderall and birth control. Oh, and let’s not forget when she threw up during one of the group dates (I don’t quite blame her for that one though).

The Bachelor
(ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Maurissa Gunn

I don’t really remember Maurissa, so I will have to wait and see what she’s like on Bachelor in Paradise Season 7. But here is her bio, in case you’re interested.

(ABC/Craig Sjodin)
(ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Mari Pepin-Solis

Mari is a former beauty pageant queen, absolutely beautiful, and confident like no other. During Matt’s season, she stood up to Queen Victoria during the “wedding” photo shoot. She doesn’t take anyone’s crap so I’m excited to see what the reunion between her and Victoria will be like.

(ABC/Craig Sjodin)
(ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Noah Erb

Remember when Tayshia shaved off his mustache?

(ABC/Craig Sjodin)
(ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Serena Chew

I wasn’t the biggest Serena fan especially because she accused Katie (falsely) of creating drama. She was sent home a week later, but I’m not all that excited to see her again in Paradise.

(ABC/Craig Sjodin)
(ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Brendan Morais

Brendan was the resident cutie on Clare and Tayshia’s season who loved to sport turtlenecks in the dead heat of California summer. He called things off with Tayshia right before Fantasy Suites, however, stating he wasn’t ready to get engaged.

Tahzjuan Hawkins

Coming to Bachelor in Paradise Season 7 is Tahzjuan Hawkins, who we saw on the previous season two years ago. She appeared on Colton Underwood’s season initially but came to the beaches of Paradise for another chance at love.

She left pretty early on after a very awkward date with John Paul Jones, but I will always remember her one-liner, “I’m Tahz-One for you”.

(ABC/Craig Sjodin)
(ABC/Craig Sjodin)

Serena Pitt

Serena was on Matt’s season as well (a lot of contestants from that season) but ended up leaving after she realized she was just not that into him.

(ABC/Maarten de Boer)
(ABC/Maarten de Boer)

Tammy Ly

Last but not least, we’ve got Tammy from Peter’s season of The Bachelor. She’ll be heading to the beaches of Bachelor in Paradise Season 7 and I think I’m excited about it. She was sent home after getting into a scuffle with Mykenna but is now returning for her shot at love.

Interesting list of contestants, right?

Who are you most excited to see on Bachelor in Paradise Season 7? Tell us below!