Rodney Mathews began the Oct. 31 episode of Bachelor in Paradise in a good place with Eliza Isichei. “I’m really content in where we’re at,” Rodney said. “She doesn’t want anyone else, I don’t want anyone else. Eliza’s the most beautiful woman here, I’m so obsessed. Eliza and I have had conversations about the future and in our minds we’re thinking about post-Paradise. I’m not really too concerned about who comes down those steps. I know exactly what Eliza and I have. I’m not worried in the slightest.”
Well, perhaps Rodney should have been worried, because Justin Glaze returned to the beach JUST to shoot his shot with Eliza. Justin was eliminated from the show after not receiving a rose during week two, but when he heard Eliza had arrived, he found his way back to the beach. Justin returned with a date card and had his eyes set on Eliza. He pulled her aside immediately and expressed that he had only come back for her. Eliza was blushing and flattered. “I didn’t think I could see anyone else coming down those steps that I’d be interested in enoguh to talk to,” she admitted. “But then you came. I really was not expecting this.”
Justin asked Eliza on the date and she said yes. However, before they left, she knew she had to have a conversation with Rodney. While she admittedly loved having the attention of two different guys, she wanted Rodney to fight for the connection they’d developed. “I want him to say, ‘You’re mine, don’t go,'” Eliza revealed. “That’s what I want him to tell me.”
Unfortunately, the conversation didn’t go as Eliza wanted. When she asked Rodney how he was feeling about her going on a date, he tried to be supportive. “I don’t want you feeling pressure thinking you’re breaking my heart or hurting me or anything like that,” Rodney explained. “I just want you to be okay and happy. I’m not going anywhere. I think [if you go] it’s what’s best. If you go and get clarity or you get confirmation or you miss me, then I’m clearly the one.”
However, that wasn’t what Eliza wanted to hear. Rodney insisted that he didn’t WANT Eliza to go, but told her he was urging her to in order for her to gain clarity that he was the one for her. Eliza flat-out told Rodney that she wanted someone who was more direct about his feelings, and he explained that he was just trying to be understanding of the situation. “I’m not going to fight him on it,” Eliza said in a confessional. “I’m not going to fight for someone to be like, ‘I want you.’ We’re not doing that. If that’s how you really feel with me pursuing a different person, then you don’t feel that strongly about me. I literally said, ‘Tell me don’t go,’ and he told me to go. So now I’m going to go and that’s it.”
Eliza and Justin went on a dinner date and she told him that she was excited because of how sure he was of her when he came to the beach. “That’s what I’m looking for — someone who’s intentional, someone who’s direct and knows what they want and goes for it,” Eliza explained. “I think that’s why when you came down today, no hesitation, I was just pleasantly surprised because I think that’s something I’ve been missing.” They both opened up about how serious they are about finding someone to be with, but also not settling. By the end of the date, Eliza was in a much better place.
“Even though today started out very, very rocky, and I was sad, honestly, I think telling myself it’s okay to come and do this and see what else is out there made me realize that maybe there is a better fit for me and what I need in a partner,” she admitted. Eliza and Justin made out while watching fireworks. Meanwhile, back on the beach, Rodney was missing Eliza, who he admittedly said he could see as his potential wife. “I know I messed up earlier, but I really think we can get through this,” he said. “I want to be with her. I want to leave here with her. That’s all I want. I know that I can make her happy. If she comes back tonight and it’s Justin for her, then that would definitely break my heart. I’m just hoping that she understands where my heart is and that I’ll do everything for her.”