Before Bachelor in Paradise, Caelynn Miller-Keyes had a connection with Blake Horstmann, and, while on the show, she went on a date with Mike Johnson.
But once Dean Unglert arrived in Paradise, he and Caelynn were basically inseparable. Dean told her on Monday's Aug. 26 episode that he didn't want to spend time in Paradise with anyone but her, but he also reminded her that he was still planning on going on his nine-month van tour of the country after the show. Caelynn read this as meaning that he wasn't super serious about continuing their relationship post-show. However, after Bachelor in Paradise, it seems Dean and Caelynn are still together — so things may have worked out after all.
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When Dean came on the show, he was immediately interested in Caelynn, and she in him. The duo took Dean's date card where they chatted about his van lifestyle and fondness for traveling, which Caelynn said she shares. She also seemed intrigued by his whole living in a van thing, so it (and the mustache) weren't immediate turn-offs for her. These two were basically meant to be.
But Caelynn said she knew about Dean's reputation on Paradise where he had feelings for both Danielle Lombard and Kristina Schulman. Caelynn didn't want to get similarly hurt by Dean this time around, so she had a talk with him about what his intentions were on the show and, most importantly, what they were for after the show. "This just feels like it's going to stop after Paradise," Caelynn said of their relationship. Dean acknowledged that he wasn't intending to shift his post-show travel plans, unless she were to change his mind somehow. Dean also cautioned Caelynn about pursuing things IRL, saying, "I think you would just be miserable as my girlfriend." That's, like, a huge red flag, but Caelynn seems to have ignored it and the duo appears to still be going strong in the real world today.
As Refinery29 previously reported, both Dean and Caelynn posted Instagrams from Spain during the same time in July. She soon deleted her post, but fans quickly took note that they appeared in the same location at the same time. Then, in mid-August, TMZ reported that the two were spotted together in California. TMZ published a photo of them waiting together at a tattoo parlor. (Perhaps Dean wanted to add another Hey Arnold-themed tat to his arm?) He was noticeably mustache-less in the photo, so there's that.
E! Online reported that Dean also came to Caelynn's defense in early August when Blake released private text messages between himself and Caelynn. Dean said on Ben Higgins' and Ashley Iaconetti's Almost Famous podcast, "Publishing and publicizing private text messages without consent from the other person as a public figure is one of the most disgraceful things you can do. I think it's almost equivalent to sharing someone's nudes." He added, "The sharing of messages specifically from a girl who you were romantically involved with when she was drunk and horny and you go ahead and blast those text messages on your social is a very obvious form of slut shaming in a sense and that's really what's frustrating."
It seems like Dean is still close enough with Caelynn to apparently travel and hang out with her, and also to stand up for her when he felt the need to. Perhaps Caelynn proved to Dean that he needed her in his post-show life after all. Now it just remains to be seen if they'll travel the country in the van together.