The wait is over! Bachelor in Paradise Canada Season 2 has officially hit the screens and the first episode was already filled with romance, drama, and streamy scenes.
The new host for this season is Sharleen Joynt, an Ottawa native currently living in New York City. Joynt is a familiar face to Bachelor fans, having previously appeared on Season 18 of The Bachelor U.S where she dated Juan Pablo, but ultimately broke things off after realizing her feelings were not strong enough.
Joynt chatted with Narcity about her experience hosting Bachelor in Paradise Canada and shared some dating advice she would have given to contestants before going on the show. Joynt is no stranger to the world of dating advice, as she hosts her own relationship-focused podcast called Dear Shandy alongside her husband Andy.
"My number one piece of dating advice, especially for contestants on the show, would be to focus more on whether or not you actually like the person verses worrying or wondering if they like you," she said.
"I think this applies to dating in real life, 'does he like me, does she like me, I don't know, it took this long to text, or to receive a text.' Instead it should just be, 'how do I feel with that person?' It sounds really simple, but I think not enough people do that."
"'Am I my best person with them or do I just want them to like me,' there's a big difference."
Couple from Bachelor in Paradise Canada. Citytv | Handout
When asked what advice she would have given herself before going on The Bachelor, Joynt revealed that she should have been "a little more present."
"I would probably tell myself to relax a bit and maybe take it all a little less seriously. I think that when I went on the show, and anyone who saw my season could tell, I was very distrusting of the whole situation, of production, of whether or not Juan Pablo really liked me, I think I was overthinking instead of just sort of surrendering to the experience a bit and really just being in the moment," she explained.
"I was really thinking about the future and the past instead of just thinking, pretty much what I was saying, 'how did it make me feel?' instead of worrying how things would come off in the future. So probably, you know, be a little more present and in the moment, all those tropes."
Bachelor in Paradise Canada Season 2 airs every Monday at 8 p.m. on Citytv.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.