Last month, the Bachelor in Paradise finale was marred by a cheating scandal. Jenna Cooper and Jordan Kimball won … and then all hell broke loose.
Alleged texts say that Jenna was cheating, but she swears that she’s a victim of fraud — and says she can prove it.
Now, she’s being defended by none other than Bachelor Winner Lauren Burnham.
So, remember how Bekah Martinez told the world that most of the women from The Bachelor had still kept in touch?
Well, several women from Arie’s season, including Lauren Burnham, Jaqueline Turmbull, and Sienne Flemming, got together for a slumber party.
(Yes, these women had all dated Arie, yes, Lauren is his fiancee, and yes, Arie was apparently also there)
One of Arie’s exes who was present was Jenna Cooper, who was eliminated in week 6 of the season.
These women are friends, so the gathering makes sense — except to fans who think that Jenna is some sort of snake in the grass.
A fan commented on Instagram, writing: “Anyone else think it’s so shady that they’re all hanging out with Jenna?”
The comment concludes: “after she proved how terrible of a human she is?”
If you’re wondering wait, when did she “prove” she’s terrible? … you are not alone.
“No spewing hate here, love,” Lauren Burnham replied to the fan’s comment.
“There are two sides to every story,” Lauren reminds the commenter.
“And,” Lauren says. “The only evidence I know of backs the fact that Jenna did not do what she’s being accused of.”
“What’s the evidence?” a curious fan demands to know.
Lauren clearly has a healthy set of boundaries (for a Bachelor star, anyway), because she doesn’t cough up the goods.
“That’s for her to release,” Lauren replies.
She is absolutely correct — we’ll get into what that evidence may be in just a moment.
“It should be happening very soon,” Lauren teases.
A lot of fans would be very happy to see solid proof instead of relying upon speculation.
Lauren reminds fans that she is not exactly the type to just decide who is innocent and who is guilty all willy-nilly.
“I am not one to jump on the bandwagon and take a side without solid evidence,” Lauren affirms.
“I can tell you that her story is very compelling,” Lauren adds. “And she has professional proof.”
She then offers a worde of warning for fans who leapt to conclusions when this alleged cheating scandal first broke.
Lauren suggests: “I would just advise not to be so quick to publicly state opinions without knowing the whole story.”
Jenna was accused of cheating after text messages were published which purportedly showed that Jenna was cheating on Jordan Kimball.
Those same texts indicated that she was planning on dumping him, which would have been humiliating after his Bachelor in Paradise proposal.
However, Jenna has insisted that, though the texts emulate her writing style, she didn’t write them.
She has also taken the extra step of hiring an attorney in her quest to clear her name.
Jenna put her phone through a forensic program to prove that she has never sent any texts of the sort.
(Such a program would capture even deleted text messages)
It is probably that forensic analysis to which Lauren is referring.
However, there may be more. Jenna’s own attorneys have expressed the belief that Jordan himself may have fabricated the texts.
It is possible that this theory, expressed in a private email to him that Jordan then made public, was intended as a negotiating tactic or a bluff.
But it is also possible that Jenna’s attorneys have uncovered further evidence — of Jenna’s innocence or even of Jordan’s alleged guilt.
If Lauren is right, Jenna may air at least some of her evidence soon.
