Bachelor in Paradise’s Alli Jo Hinkes and Sam McKinney found their match outside of filming.
Bachelor Nation first met Sam when he appeared as a contestant on Jenn Tran’s season 21 of The Bachelorette in 2024. After receiving the first impression rose, Sam was later eliminated after struggling to answer questions about the lead outside of their physical connection.
Sam then headed to the beach on season 10 of Bachelor in Paradise the following year, where Alli Jo also appeared after not finding love with Grant Ellis on season 29 of The Bachelor.
“If I got asked to do Paradise and I was single at that point in my life … possibly,” Alli Jo exclusively told Us Weekly in 2025 about possibly joining the series. “We will see.”
While Sam and Alli Jo did not find love on the show, the pair later established a romance outside of romance — which they hard-launched via social media in 2025.
Scroll down to see a timeline of Alli Jo and Sam’s relationship:
July 2025
In a joint Instagram post shared in July 2025, Alli Jo and Sam confirmed their romance. “Sometimes… You just gotta do it your damn self,” they captioned a post, alongside photos of the pair cuddled up. “Be a force and #StayRelentless.”
April 2026
In a sweet social media post, Alli Jo reflected on leaving to film Bachelor in Paradise one year prior — where she hoped to meet Sam.
“Crazy to think a year ago today we were leaving to film Bachelor in Paradise. I had such a good feeling about what I thought was going to be. I remember being so excited to hopefully meet you. Till this day I’m so disappointed in how that experience played out to be. Because that’s exactly how I felt, played. BUT on the other hand, it led me to meeting you in real time, in real life, writing our own real story. And as we know, nothings ever easy, but easy isn’t worth having,” she wrote via Instagram.
She continued, “Fast forward to exactly a year later, I finally got my hometown date 😘 it’s funny how timing and how life works out. What’s not funny is NJ being 40 degrees and raining in April 🫠.”
June 2026
Alli Jo shared in June 2026 that Sam would be moving in with her in Florida. “One way ticket cause we’re finally going home together! ✈️,” she wrote via Instagram at the time.
