Bachelor Nation
‘Bachelor in Paradise’ Stars Sam McKinney & Alli Jo Hinkes Confirm Post-Show Romance
Bachelor in Paradise star Sam McKinney has finally found his “main thing.”
Following their eliminations from Season 10 of Bachelor in Paradise, Sam and another Bachelor Nation star hinted at a post-show romance on social media. Although neither of them found love on the beach, they connected afterward and are now officially an item.
Fans picked up on Sam and Alli Jo Hinkes’ soft launch after The Bachelorette and The Bachelor alums posted Instagram Stories that seemed to show the same hand in both pictures. Sam shared a photo of himself with a woman’s hand holding up a drink and showing off her bright red manicure. The same day, Alli Jo posted a photo to her own Instagram Story, and the hands looked similar.
On July 28, social media sleuths were validated by Bachelor Nation’s newest hard launch. A week after the Bachelor in Paradise stars teased their connection, Sam and Alli Jo took to social media in a collaborative Instagram post captioned, “Sometimes… You just gotta do it your damn self. Be a force and #StayRelentless.” In their PDA-filled photos, the couple is seen embracing and sharing a kiss. On the final slide, Alli Jo wears a hat featuring Sam’s signature quote, “Keep the main thing, the main thing.”
View this post on Instagram
Before heading to Paradise, Sam revealed on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast that he had his eye on Alli Jo, who was a contestant on Grant Ellis‘ season of The Bachelor. “[Alli Jo] was somebody who… we spoke a little bit before Paradise, and she was just super sweet and stuff,” he shared. “I thought, ‘That would be a great girl to go meet out there.’”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be that they would meet in Costa Rica. Sam and Alli Jo never even crossed paths in Paradise. He was eliminated at the first rose ceremony after Jess Edwards chose to give her rose to Spencer Conley over him. Meanwhile, Alli Jo didn’t join the cast until Week 2, which was featured in the July 14, episode.
At that point, most of the pairs were already coupled up, and although Alli Jo expressed interest in Dale Moss, he gave his rose to Katherine Izzo. Now that viewers know that both Sam and Alli Jo received an early elimination, we can’t help but agree with Alli Jo’s comment, “Didn’t need a beach to find my paradise ❤️ main thing energy baby!”
Bachelor in Paradise, Season 10, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC
