‘Bachelor In Paradise’ Contestant Breaks Silence During Sex Scandal

News broke yesterday that the filming of The Bachelor spin-off, Bachelor in Paradise, has been halted in Mexico due to “alleged misconduct.” Reports have come in that say the show filmed DeMario Jackson engaging in sexual activity with another contestant, who it has been determined was too drunk to give consent. One of the contestants, under the guise of anonymity, has agreed to speak out about the situation to PEOPLE.

The show’s contestants knew something serious was happening when they were placed on “lockdown,” which forbids the contestants from interacting with one another and puts them under constant supervision by the production team.

“We were told to stay in a certain part of the [resort] while they figured out what the hell had happened,” the contestant revealed. “We knew something bad had happened; there was a dark energy that came around the house. You have to understand that we weren’t even there a week. The game hadn’t even really begun yet.”

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“They stopped taping anything, and we were just kind of there, waiting in limbo,” the contestant added. “We couldn’t talk to each other about what we knew. On Thursday, one of the camera guys told me that they were probably going to shut down production. I didn’t realize that it was that serious until then. I was like, ‘Wait, they’re thinking of canceling the show?’ It hadn’t even crossed my mind that they’d do that.”

The show was supposed to film for three weeks, but the incident occurred merely days into filming.

The day after the lockdown, the contestants understood the severity of the situation when they were confronted by the show’s producers, the contestant recalled, “One of them was crying. She told us that it was over and we’d all be going home.”

Although this doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the show permanently, it doesn’t look like this season’s contestants will be seen again.

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“[The producer] was like, ‘I don’t think that’s realistic,’” the contestant said of resuming filming. “She said that there was an investigation going on, and that could take days, weeks, or even months. And by that time, we all have lives and jobs and things to go back to, so it just wasn’t going to work out. They told us that we’d be considered for future seasons and opportunities in the franchise, but that this adventure was probably over.”

Contestants get paid a stipend depending on how long they last, which means the more days they avoid elimination, the more money they amass. Most likely, all contestants will get the full potential sum.

“We’re pissed that this whole thing happened,” the contestant explained of the group’s sentiment. “They could have stopped this before it got this far.”

They continued, “We’re pissed off. People had planned their lives around this. Contestants quit their jobs for this. We all had to step away from our real lives for three weeks.”