Sam McKinney & Alli Jo Hinkes Reveal If They Talked Before Going on ‘Bachelor in Paradise’

Spilling the tea...

Bachelor Nation fans got to know Sam McKinney and Alli Jo Hinkes on “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” before they both appeared on Season 10 of “Bachelor in Paradise.”

While the two of them were both on the show, they missed each other on the beach by a week. And after weeks of speculation, Sam and Alli Jo confirmed their relationship last month.

Now, the two are spilling all about their relationship in an exclusive interview on the “Bachelor Happy Hour: Golden Hour” podcast. 

Alli Jo first revealed that she and Sam originally started talking before leaving for “BIP.” 

“I reached out to him a couple of months ago during Grant’s season.” she confessed. “I had messaged him and I was like, ‘I actually just got compared to you on the show’ like right after the episode after the basketball date. So we started chatting a little bit and then a couple months later, I posted a photo, he DM’d me, and we started talking about ‘Paradise’ and we both didn’t know if we were going or not. And then he answered me and I stopped answering his messages.”

Alli Jo continued, explaining, “We were talking about ‘Paradise’ and we both didn’t know if we were going, but I think we were both hopeful. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to and I was like, ‘If I’m single at the time, I would wanna go.’ But I knew if I went and he went, like, he was somebody that I wanted to meet, so I didn’t want to keep the conversation going and asking questions because if he was gonna be on the beach, I wanted it to happen organically.” 

The two also admitted they were disappointed to learn they had just missed each other in Costa Rica, but knew that wasn’t going to stop them from connecting. 

“We knew we were gonna make stuff happen. We didn’t need TV. I didn’t need TV to book a plane ticket and go see [her.],” Sam said, “Once I found out she wasn’t there and I was going home, I’m like, all right.”  

Alli Jo chimed in, sharing she was the first one to reach back out and said, “He didn’t know if I was there; he had no clue. So I had gotten back and I had gotten my phone and I messaged him… I was like, ‘I’m really disappointed, I’m really upset’ and he goes, ‘Chin up. Here’s my number, give me a call.’ And I called him before I got on the flight.”

The two also revealed that they’ve already met each other’s families and shared how they’re currently navigating dating long distance.  

“I’m still in Myrtle Beach. She’s still in [Fort Lauderdale],” Sam said. “It’s tough. Knowing that she’s leaving today, it doesn’t feel great. But what it does is that any time that’s spent with each other is just so intentional. There’s never a dull moment, there’s never a complacent moment. It’s really just absorbing every single second of time. And also too, it tests your levels of communication because you still want to show intention, and show desire and you know pursue what you still want in kind of an unorthodox fashion. So for right now, we’re making it work.” 

Hear the rest of Sam and Alli Jo’s conversation in the full episode of “Bachelor Happy Hour: Golden Hour” below!