Sam McKinney and Alli Jo Hinkes have sparked speculation they're dating after neither person found love on Bachelor in Paradise.
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The pair never crossed paths on Bachelor in Paradise, but they apparently found each other in the real world.
Earlier this week, Sam posted a photo via Instagram Stories in which a woman's hand -- with a red manicure -- was holding up a frozen margarita.
Sam could be seen in the background of the photo, which he set to "Stolen Dance" by Milky Chance.
Alli Jo, for her part, had posted a photo of herself holding a pink and white cake that read, "Paradise was just the beginning," on her own Instagram Stories.
Alli Jo was noticeably sporting red finger nail polish at the event, which appeared to match the hand in Sam's post.
Alli Jo also captioned her upload, "Keep the main thing the main thing," which is Sam's famous catchphrase.
This may be a soft launch for Alli Jo and the 28-year-old contractor from Myrtle Beach, SC.
Fans are already aware that Sam -- who had competed on Jenn Tran's The Bachelorette season in 2024 -- had joined the Bachelor in Paradise Season 10 cast hoping to meet the outgoing bachelorette from The Bachelor's 29th season, which wrapped on ABC in March.
The "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast co-host Serena Pitt had asked Sam to share which women were at the top of his list when it came to dating in Paradise during the July 1 episode.
"Okay, so there was only one, and it was Alli Jo from [Grant Ellis]' season," Sam revealed.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOWBut Sam claimed he had never reached out to the 30-year-old boxing trainer from Manalapan, NJ.
"After my season of The Bachelorette, I didn't reach out to anybody because you don't know what people think about you. Some people can see it's reality TV, but there are some people who can't see past that and think, 'This guy is the world's biggest piece of sh-t,'" Sam explained.
"And if I saw what you saw on TV, I would agree with you. I understand it, but that's also not me."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW: WHOM DID 'THE BACHELORETTE' STARS AND THEIR BACHELOR PICKS ULTIMATELY END UP WITH?! (PHOTOS)
Sam elaborated, "But [Alli Jo] was somebody who -- we spoke a little bit before Paradise and she was just super sweet and stuff. I thought, 'That would be a great girl to go meet out there.'"
Serena said she "could see" Sam and Alli Jo together, but Serena's husband and podcast co-host Joe Amabile admitted, "Really? I can't."
"That's not what I would've [predicted]," Joe confessed. "She's seems like a feisty New Jersey girl and you are..."
"Do you picture him with a sweet southern belle?" Serena interjected.
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Joe explained to Sam, "Because you are from South Carolina, or you live in South Carolina, and you have more of a mellow tone to you. But hey, opposites attract!"
Sam laughed and pointed out, "People don't know me as well as they think they do."
"And honestly, the feistiness was something that I liked," Sam revealed.
"Honestly, I want somebody who can -- usually I stay in my place about 90 percent of the time. But if I ever decide to wander off the beaten path, I need somebody who will smack me with a stick and say, 'Hey! Straighten up a little bit!'"
Sam acknowledged how there needs to be "a balance" in a healthy relationship.
"I want my partner to have her voice and understand that what she says is important, whether that's telling me to straighten up or hold her hand or whatever it is," Sam shared.
"It's just one of those things where I want the feistiness because that's also me to an extent."
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
On Bachelor in Paradise's tenth season, Sam went on a date with Jess Edwards but she decided to pursue a romance with Spencer Conley instead.
And Alli Jo was interested in Dale Moss, but he chose to continue wooing Kat Izzo.
Both Alli Jo and Sam were probably hoping for a redemption edit on Bachelor in Paradise, but their journeys in Costa Rica were short-lived.
Alli Jo memorably got caught up in drama with Zoe McGrady on The Bachelor's 29th season, which aired earlier this year on ABC.
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"It really sucks. It sucks to feel rejected when you put yourself out there and when someone is asking you to be vulnerable, and I had done just that," Alli Jo cried in her final words on the show.
"I thought I was building a connection with him; obviously he didn't see it. But it really sucks."
As for Sam, he and Jenn had a hot and heavy physical connection on The Bachelorette's 21st season last year, and Sam professed his love very early on, which rubbed Jenn's other bachelors the wrong way.
When Jenn pressed Sam for specifics on why he loved her, Sam was "dismissive," according to Jenn, and spoke in generalities about appreciating her and wanting "a ferocious" love.
Since Sam didn't seem to understand Jenn or have much depth in their relationship, she decided that she couldn't take him seriously.
Jenn ultimately eliminated Sam before the sixth Rose Ceremony of the season, and Sam, capping off his portrayal as a villain, vented in his final words: "The energy that [Jenn] brought was very dull. It's not my fault."
Jenn later chose to get engaged to Devin Strader on The Bachelorette's Season 21 finale, but they broke up before the After the Final Rose special aired on ABC.
Jenn had claimed that Devin slowly ghosted her and then dumped her in a brief phone call, and Devin went on to release personal text messages with Jenn on social media in attempt to share his "truth" and side of the story.
"[Sam] went after Devin," Bachelor in Paradise bartender Wells Adams recalled on the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast before Paradise premiered.
"[But Sam] was kind of right about Devin! He wasn't wrong, and I feel like he got roasted for kind of being right... I think he deserves a little bit of, like, a different experience."
Wells was therefore rooting for Sam to have a redemptive edit and possibly find love in Paradise.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
