St. Catharines woman playing a very different game this season on Bachelor in Paradise Canada

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Published June 2, 2023 at 4:57 pm

There's side-eye and then there's burning holes through the side of someone's face. Here, Connor Brennan stares death rays at Lisa Mancini. (Screenshot: Citytv)

Fortunately, for a St. Catharines woman competing on the TV show Bachelor in Paradise Canada, she managed to turn a pentagon into a more reasonable triangle.

For those who forget Grade 10 Math, a pentagon is a five-sided shape and let’s assume you remember what a triangle is. (If not, the ancient Greek mathematician, Euclid, would like a word with you.)

Yet, that was actually the position Lisa Mancini, 29, found herself in. For a brief period, he had four guys interested in pursuing her but by the end of Episode 4, she was down to a love triangle, which is not only de rigueur for this reality show but actually common on a weekly basis.

With the women in charges of the roses, Mancini basically had to tell suitor and American contestant Quartney Mixon to please, please, please pursue someone else. Anyone else. At the beginning the ceremony, he self-evicted, knowing there was zero chance of getting any petals.

So then there was a love square – Mancini and three men. The Garden City lady narrowed it down at that point as she had to eliminate one – newbie Jake Ondrus, a 22-year-old Toronto personal trainer who came late to the game.

That brought it down to a reasonable triangle – Mancini, Illinois school teacher Connor Brennan, 30, an alumni of the American Bachelor in Paradise and the much-in-demand California rock climber/ex-Survivor contestant Cole Medders. Love triangles are not only de rigueur on this show, they’re pretty much a three-times-weekly occurrence.


However, unless you watched Season 1 of Bachelor in Paradise Canada, you truly wouldn’t have a clue how far Mancini has come. Last season, she couldn’t have bought a date with a lottery win and a fully-loaded Maserati parked in the sand.

That said, her quirky, forthright and endearing nature made her a huge fan favourite. This year, with the fellows all knocking on her door, Mancini is noting on social media that her female fans are throwing big-time smoke. We aren’t certain why – she’s exactly the same person… just with better luck.

Okay, trouble spots. Despite the fact she picked Brennan to give her rose to, keeping him safe, he got kind of sulky about it because she hesitated in deciding between him and Ondrus. Unfortunately, her uncertainty came right at the ceremony and she verbalized it so that got up Brennan’s nose a little.

Truth to tell, Ondris took his departure far more good-naturedly than Brennan took his win. Usually, the exit rides could be dubbed “The Caravan Of Ruined Mascara.”

The next day, while Brennan was slowly stewing over it, bubbly, blonde newcomer Paige Allen from Toronto came bouncing in and asked him out with her date card. Gladly accepting, any chance of romance was quickly dashed when their date involved babysitting Bachelor in Paradise alumni and current bartender Ken Wendt and Astrid Loch’s infant son, August and their two goldendoodles.

That left Mancini all alone with Medders – although his Newfoundland playmate Samantha “Sam” Picco is never far from view. Although they have undeniable chemistry, the pair made a pact to hold off until each had the chance to talk with the others involved.

That said, we suspect by Episode 5, you won’t be able to separate Mancini and Medders using the Jaws of Life. We’d bet Mancini’s fancy High Roller Cup on it.

Bachelor in Paradise Canada is aired every Monday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Citytv, Citytv+ and Citytv.com, and through the Citytv app.


Here’s the flip-side of side-eye as Lisa Mancini gives Connor Brennan the “are you even serious with this crap?” face. (Screenshot: Citytv)

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