Bachelor in Paradise bartender Wells Adams is leading the Derek Peth for Bachelor charge after this week’s episode, which left Peth single after Demi Burnett came out as queer and committed to a relationship with Kristian Haggerty.
Adams, who has known Peth since they both competed on JoJo Fletcher’s 2016 season of The Bachelorette, is now advocating for his close friend to take on the lead role next season — over other front-runners Mike Johnson and Peter Weber — because of his maturity and “normal guy” status.
“They’ve had a lot of really young Bachelors and Bachelorettes: Colton was really young, Hannah is pretty young. I think it would be nice to have an older guy. Derek is 32 — not even older, but would he have more mature women on the show,” Adams tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Derek is an svp of a bank, he’s a normal guy…. He’s from Iowa, so he’s a small-town guy, and he happens to look exactly like John Krasinski, which I think people would enjoy. And he’s gotten engaged on the show before, which proves he’s a guy who’s serious about wanting to find love and is there for the right reasons.”
The reality star also discussed Burnett’s coming out and the show’s decision to bring Haggerty — whom Burnett had been dating before filming — onto the Paradise beach for the franchise’s first queer love story.
“I thought it was beautiful. I’ve never been more proud of being a part of this franchise as I was this last week,” Adams says. “It’s a big thing to do on network TV, to show that, and I think we’re all better for it, and it was wonderful. And getting to know Demi, she’s a really bright light, and getting to know Kristian — the story’s not over, you guys haven’t seen it all yet, but they’re just really cute, and it was just a breath of fresh air into Paradise. I loved it, I thought it was the best thing in the world.”
Adams is parlaying his role as the show’s bartender into a Labor Day partnership with Svedka Vodka in celebration of the brand’s limited-edition party bottle. As vodka soda is his drink of choice, Adams plans to throw a house party with fiancé Sarah Hyland for the holiday weekend.
“Sarah and I don’t go out a lot, but we do host a lot of parties, a lot of pool parties. We have three dogs, so we have people bring over their dogs, and I grill out, and we make drinks for everybody,” he says. “We’re planning a Labor Day party coming up, so I was like, ‘Perfect, send over as much of this as possible so I can have a nice party with all of my friends.'”
Adams also shared his recipe for a summer punch party drink, which includes two parts Svedka, half part orange Curacao, half part simple syrup, one part lime juice and a dash of grenadine over ice in a big pitcher. “It’s a drink that goes really fast at my parties, so I highly suggest it,” he says.
As for his and Hyland’s wedding plans, after getting engaged in June, Adams says they’re just focusing on being engaged and don’t have anything set in stone for their big day. One thing he is focused on, though, is improving his “hipster guy” style of leather and jean jackets with old boots.
“I’m trying to be better,” he says. “I know I need to look cooler because I look like such a schlep next to my fiancé all of the time, so I’m working on it.”
More from The Hollywood Reporter
-
![]()
-
Mia Wasikowska
Cannes: Alicia Vikander, Marion Cotillard, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and More in The Hollywood Reporter’s Festival Photo Gallery
![]()
-
![]()
-
style
Billie Eilish Slams Critics Who Called Her a “Sellout” for Being More Feminine: “Let Women Live”
![]()
-
Theater
How Amber Ruffin’s Mission to Have Fun Helped “Destroy and Then Rebuild” ‘Some Like It Hot’ for Broadway
![]()
-
![]()
