ABC Bachelor in Paradise' Wells Adams.
Wells Adams, bartender and icon of “Bachelor in Paradise,” told a strange tale on the October 3 episode of the “Bachelor” spinoff. In fact, he didn’t just tell it, he acted it out.
The bizarre story may be a case of the truth being stranger than fiction.
WATCH: Adams Relays ‘The Saga of Salley’s Suitcase’
It all started when BIP cast member Lace Morris found a suitcase in her room with the name “Salley” on it. Confused by its presence, considering there is no one named Salley on the beach, Morris rounded up several of the other women and showed them the mysterious luggage. Not sure what to think, they opened the bag, and discovered numerous personal artifacts including blonde hair extensions and a vibrator.
Genevieve Parisi was already having a rough night, as the man she was interested in, Justin Glaze, went on a date with new arrival Victoria Fuller. When she heard the name Salley, Parisi became more upset because she had heard that Glaze and a woman named Salley had been an item during Stagecoach. If this Salley woman was coming to the beach, that meant she had two women to battle for her man.
To find out what was going on, Parisi, Morris and several other cast members went to see Adams at the bar. The recently married former “Bachelorette” cast member proceeded to share “The Saga of Salley’s Suitcase” while viewers were treated to an amusing video featuring costumed men reenacting the story.
Adams explained that on Clayton Echard’s season of “The Bachelor,” Salley self-eliminated on night one, never even getting out of the limo. She had just ended an engagement one month prior to showing up for filming and then abruptly changed her mind about being on the show, he said.
When Salley was later slated to be on BIP, producers were concerned she wouldn’t show up. According to Adams, “We decided to send a producer to make sure she got on her flight.” Adams played the part of the female producer, as well as a few other roles in the “Drunk History“-reminiscent short film. After a wild goose chase trying to track Salley down, the producer finally convinced her to come to the airport.
Salley, however, insisted on making a pit stop at her ex-fiancé’s mansion, Adams said. According to his retelling, Salley told the producer, “Listen, if he sees you in the car, he’s gonna lose his mind. You need to get in the back.” The producer quickly found out that Salley did not mean the back seat — she meant the trunk of the car.
Parisi interrupted the story, saying, “Tell me this is serious.” Adams replied, “This is dead freaking serious,” even challenging Parisi to ask the producer about it. He then revealed that while Salley promised she would be back in 10 minutes, she actually left the producer in the trunk of the car for four hours.
When Salley finally returned, she was crying and said that her ex didn’t love her anymore and he wanted her to go to paradise, so now she was all in. However, once they got to the airport, after the bags were already checked, Salley changed her mind again after talking to her ex on the phone. That, according to Adams, is why her bags were in paradise but Salley was not.
When the women asked Adams if she was still coming, he replied that she had changed her mind again and was expected to show up in paradise, but no one knew for sure when.
Who Is Salley Carson?
Salley’s full name is Salley Carson. Her biography for “The Bachelor” season 26, which aired in early 2022, indicated she was 26 at the time and from Charlottesville, Virginia. According to the bio, “She is a spine surgery robot operator” and “a career-focused girl” who “wants to own a clothing store one day.” Her LinkedIn profile indicates she has worked for Medtronic for nearly four years, most recently as an associate navigation and robotics consultant, and has a bachelor of science degree from the University of South Carolina.
Her Instagram account indicates she currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina.
According to Style Caster, “Salley quit The Bachelor after production learned that she was engaged to a man named Avery Buccholz one month before The Bachelor season 26 started filming.”
Viewers of Echard’s season will recall that Carson met with Echard in his hotel room prior to the limo arrivals and told him she was not going to participate because her breakup with her ex-fiancé was too fresh. Echard tried to talk her into staying by offering her a rose, but to no avail.
How True Is the Story?
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight on October 4, Adams made the following statement about the saga’s veracity: “This is what was told to us by that producer. Now, how much of that was true, I don’t know. Was it 80 percent true? Was it 90 percent true? Was it all true, but just embellished a little bit? I’m not really sure.”
Adams also told ET, “I think that the audience needs to remember, it’s obviously tongue-in-cheek because of how we presented it to the audience. I saw some people on Twitter being like, ‘This is bullying. This is mean.’ We did a Drunk History reenactment of something. You can’t take this too seriously.”
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