Just one year ago, Kendall Long found her happily ever after with Joe Amabile on season five of Bachelor in Paradise — although their love story didn’t unfold in the most traditional way. Kendall and Joe actually broke up on the show, only to reveal that they had gotten back together after she rushed to his home to win him back before the reunion show. Now, they’re happily dating, and Kendall is offering up her advice to whichever couples come out successful after season six, which is airing its finale on Sept. 17.
“It’s really exciting to finally be out in public [as a couple], but with that comes a lot of opinion,” Kendall admitted to HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “There will be people who try to fabricate things and separate you two. Just go at your own pace and trust each other’s timeline.” This is certainly the path that Kendall and Joe have followed, opting not to feel pressure to get engaged, but, instead, progress the relationship at a speed that they’re comfortable with. Recently, the lovebirds moved in together after several months of him living in Chicago and her in L.A.
“That was a huge hurdle to be able to overcome,” Kendall gushed. “It’s actually still kind of a long distance thing because we travel so much for our jobs, so we’re just making sure to find time to spend with each other and then miss each other.”
Of course, Kendall has noticed similarities between herself and Joe and another couple from season six: Tayshia Adams and John Paul Jones. Tayshia broke up with JPJ during last week’s episode in a similar fashion to how Kendall ended things with Joe. However, Kendall is rooting for them to possibly still work out. “I’m hoping they at least give it a chance,” she explained. “They have that hilarious connection.”
Meanwhile, Kendall has another big venture coming up — on the same day of the finale, she’s premiering her new podcast, Down To Date. The podcast will feature Kendall hosting two strangers on a date and forcing them to get to know each other on a much deeper level than most first dates entail. “The idea is to facilitate more in-depth connections,” Kendall said. “We wanted the first date to be more…non-surface level — so getting really in depth to hopefully see who the genuine person is.”
Kendall will be highly involved every episode as she acts as a “third wheel” on the dates. “I’m there kind of facilitating conversation between the two people,” she explained. “I’ll be the one asking the questions and hosting the games we play. I’m moreso trying to push each individual to give more in-depth answers as opposed to the ‘yes or no’ answers that people usually give. I’m there to push them.”
Down to Date, which is produced by Studio71, can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and YouTube.
