Tino Franco will be tuning into season 9 of Bachelor in Paradise … but not to root for ex-fiancée Rachel Recchia.
“I’ll probably watch because I heard rumors that Aven [Jones] and Tyler [Norris] and a couple of the guys I liked from my season went down. So I’ll be rooting them on and if she thinks she can find love [on Paradise] after everything she’s been through, I mean, good for her,” Tino told Courtney Robertson with a laugh on the “After Reality” podcast on Wednesday, August 23. “One thing, I think — whether you like her or dislike her — you got to give her credit for is there’s no quit in her. I’ll be watching, but focusing my rooting on for the boys.”
Bachelor Nation watched Tino and Rachel’s messy breakup on the season 19 finale of The Bachelorette last year. After getting engaged on the series, the pair went through a rough patch as the show was airing — and Tino subsequently confessed to kissing someone else. Tino argued at the time that Rachel said she was taking off her engagement ring, signaling that things were over between them. Rachel was furious at the suggestion, resulting in an awkward and tense After the Final Rose reunion in September 2022.
When asked whether he regretted revealing his indiscretion, Tino said it’s “hard to regret telling her” because he doesn’t believe they were right for each other regardless. He also implied that he still doesn’t necessarily believe he even cheated.
“I think if I would’ve done it over again, before I went off and got drunk and kissed somebody else, I would’ve just broken it off there, like, if I had a magic time machine,” Tino said on Wednesday. “If I’m in the situation where I already did my stupid thing — knowing that what I did was, to a lot of people, [a] pretty gray area or not even something wrong and getting the electric chair for it on national TV, yeah, I mean, it’s hard to say [that] I would’ve done everything [the same]. I mean, the punishment was so absurd.”
Tino told Courtney that “there’s no way” he and Rachel “would’ve had a future together” even if he didn’t kiss someone else.
“We weren’t right for each other. … I don’t think we’ll ever speak to each other again,” he said before revealing the last time she reached out. “I think, some odd year ago, she tried to call and I just was kind of like, ‘I don’t know if we’ll ever get to the point where we have something to talk about, but this is way too soon for me.’ But personally, I don’t think there’s anything for us to talk about.”
He added: “I’m not a big rehasher or ‘I need closure’ person. I’m like, ‘I think I’ve seen every little bit of this situation and you that I ever need to, so let’s just be adults here, chalk it up for the loss it was, and walk away.’”
ABC dropped the trailer for season 9 of BiP during the season 20 finale of The Bachelorette on Monday, August 21. In the teaser, Rachel kisses Jordan Vandergriff, a contestant she sent home during week 2 of her joint season with Gabby Windey.
“This is crazy getting a second chance,” Rachel tells the cameras. “I think things happen for a reason.”
Rachel is also seen cozying up to season 20 villain Brayden Bowers. BiP returns to ABC Thursday, September 28, at 9 p.m. ET after the premiere of The Golden Bachelor.
