We all watched in fascination and maybe a little horror as Dean Unglert, despite having won so many hearts on The Bachelorette, became the center of a Bachelor in Paradise love triangle.
And you know who else may have been watching? Justin Bieber.
It looks like the Biebs is a member of the Bachelor Nation … or maybe just thirsty for Danielle Lombard. Or you know what? it might be both.
You guys know that “likes” on social media aren’t secret, right?
Because they are very, very public.
This week, Ted Cruz learned that the hard way.
So, Danielle Lombard has shared some snaps of herself during this season of Bachelor in Paradise.
One recent photo was of her looking lovely and holding some coffee while confessing how hooked she is on it.
One eagle-eyed fan noticed that Justin Bieber “liked” the pic.
Look, we’re all grown-ups here.
We know that, even though the “like” button on Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr looks like a heart and fills in red with a click, clicking “like” isn’t the same thing as flirting.
(Tell that some people’s obsessive significant others who intrusively spy upon their boyfriend or girlfriend’s “likes” on social media — that’s creepy and abusive, by the way)
Justin might have just been clicking “like” to indicate that he supports Danielle in general.
(We know that he watches The Bachelorette, as he’s confessed before — it’s not really a stretch to assume that he might watch Bachelor in Paradise)
Or the Biebs might have been indicating that he’s also a huge coffee enthusiast, though that’s not really an association that we have with him.
But Justin has a tendency to be less than shy about liking girls on Instagram.
If you remember, Justin recently got hilariously rejected on Twitter after sliding into a company’s DMs because he thought that their employee was super hot.
He’s also shown interest in various Instagram models in the past.
That might sound like something that half the guys on Instagram have done, but in Bieber’s case, his passing interest has launched modeling careers.
These days, you see, a lot of modeling agencies are eager to sign models who already have popular followings.
It’s just a natural product of the age of social media — people are inundated with hotness at all times, and want to think that they know the person (while looking at them be all gorgeous, of course).
So when a modeling agency hears that a girl is hot enough to attract Bieber’s attention, and therefore the attention of his fans, they know that they’re looking at a good prospect.
We don’t think that Justin Bieber was necessarily hoping to hook up with Danielle.
Not realistically, anyway. Not right after seeing her build her relationship with Dean Unglert on international television.
But let us, for a moment, imagine what it would be like if Justin Bieber starred on The Bachelor for a season.
Because it would be nuts.
You’d have to beat back hopeful contestants with a stick, for starters … to a degree we’ve yet to see in 22 seasons.
For another, you’d wonder which Justin Bieber you’d be getting.
The one with alleged substance abuse problems?
The Justin Bieber so religious that Sadie Robertson is crushing on him?
Or maybe the Justin Bieber who lets it all hang out while dating various models?
That would be … absolutely amazing.
We don’t see the Biebs doing that, especially considering his net worth and how marriage might impact that.
But it’s fun to imagine.