The Bachelorette alum Becca Kufrin apparently doesn't care what people think about her Bachelor in Paradise love interest, Thomas Jacobs, and she's standing up for the TV villain.
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Becca asked Thomas out on a date in Mexico during the September 7 episode of Bachelor in Paradise's seventh season, and the pair engaged in good conversation that resulted in Becca smiling big and saying she was "smitten" with the bachelor, who had developed the reputation of being a smooth-talking, manipulative villain on Katie Thurston's season of The Bachelorette.
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While many Bachelor in Paradise viewers are concerned about the seemingly sweet and good-hearted Becca dating Thomas considering he also sparked drama on the beach with Tre Cooper and Aaron Clancy, Becca appears to have total confidence in Thomas.
Becca, 31, recently posted a behind-the-scenes photo on Instagram of Thomas, 29, rubbing her feet in Paradise, and she captioned the image, "This little piggy went to the beach."
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In the photo, the Season 14 The Bachelorette star -- who starred on the franchise in 2018 and announced her split from her winner, ex-fiance Garrett Yrigoyen, in September 2020 -- was sweetly gazing and smiling at Thomas with affection.
Thomas, a real estate broker from San Diego, commented on the picture, "Little do people know, you're actually smiling at the floor to ceiling stack of Doritos behind me."
One of Becca's followers commented, "This guy has 'red flags' written all over him."
But Becca clapped back and wrote on September 8, "Red is my favorite color."
On The Bachelorette's seventeenth season that aired earlier this year, Katie dumped Thomas for allegedly being on the show for the wrong reasons.
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Thomas admitted at the time he briefly thought about potentially becoming The Bachelor star for Season 26 in 2022, and Katie was concerned that Thomas had been using her as a stepping stone to boost his career and fame.
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Katie even called Thomas "a liar" as well as "selfish" and "unkind" when she eliminated him at a Rose Ceremony. (Thomas later apologized for his insulting behavior on The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All.)
In late June, Katie said on "The Viall Files" podcast hosted by Season 21 The Bachelor star Nick Viall, "I am nervous for any woman who interacts with Thomas, honestly. He's a smooth talker. I wouldn't be surprised if he recycles some lines with me on some of these women... Good luck to them."
"If he's on Paradise, I don't care who he's with, I'm going to be like, 'Watch out, girl!'" Katie said, adding that she wasn't "open" to "changing [her] mind" about the bachelor either.
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But Katie has apparently come around since then.
Katie, in fact, showed that she is encouraging Becca and Thomas' Paradise romance when she commented on Becca's social-media picture of the couple, "Obsessed with this. [Sunglasses emoticon]. look how you look at him!"
Given the fact Thomas was a polarizing character on the franchise, Becca opted to form her own opinion and trust her gut.
During her first date with Thomas in Paradise, Becca expressed to the cameras how she wasn't going to hold Thomas' edit on Katie's The Bachelorette season against him.
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"All I knew about Thomas before was that he was involved in some of the drama on Katie's season," Becca said.
"I have been blindsided in the past, but I said that I was going to come in here open-minded and with no expectations or any pre-conceived notions. So I'm going to give him a chance."
Thomas seemed supportive and encouraging when Becca explained how it was difficult for her to open her heart again after her painful split from Garrett. The pair kissed, danced to music and certainly established a good connection.
Prior to Becca joining the Bachelor in Paradise cast, rumors swirled she was romantically involved with her The Bachelorette 14 runner-up, Blake Horstmann, but she recently shot down the dating speculation much to Blake's dismay.
Shortly after announcing on September 1, 2020 her engagement to Garrett had ended, Becca made a "last-minute decision" and moved to Los Angeles, CA, to embrace a "new adventure" in her life.
Becca, who now hosts the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast, starred on The Bachelorette after having her heart broken by Arie Luyendyk Jr. on The Bachelor's 22nd season, which wrapped in early 2018.
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