The rivalry is back! Josh Murray and Nick Viall‘s friction has remained dormant in the most recent episodes of Bachelor in Paradise, but the Bachelorette season 10 winner made sure to rev it back up during a tense date competition in the Tuesday, August 23, episode.
In the ABC dating series’ latest episode, Paradise season 2 newlyweds Jade Roper and Tanner Tolbert returned to the beach to catch up with this year’s participants. The happy duo met with each season 3 couple and got to decide which pair was most deserving of a lavish one-on-one date.
As part of the process, Roper and Tolbert — who tied the knot in January — sat down with Murray and Amanda Stanton, and Stanton admitted that she went on date with Viall before Murray arrived on the show. At that, Tolbert quipped that Murray “beat Nick again,” causing the former baseball pro to laugh. (Andi Dorfman picked Murray, 32, over Viall, 35, in the Bachelorette season 10 finale in 2014, although the couple ended their engagement after less than a year.)
“Nick and I have a history, obviously, of dating the same woman before, but I feel good about where I stand, and me as a person. I don’t worry about Nick,” Murray told cameras in the episode. “He’s no concern to me.” Murray then cracked his neck in a deliberate manner that suggested he was gloating.
Tolbert, 29, appreciated that Murray showed confidence in what he has with Stanton, but the Bachelorette season 11 castoff wanted to be sure Murray didn’t just want the date in order to rub his relationship in Viall’s face.
“Josh isn’t shy about saying that they are the strongest couple here, and that they deserve this date card, and they really want it, [and] you have to respect him going for it,” Tolbert told the camera. “But you also wonder if there’s an ulterior motive, that he’s putting on too much.”
In the end, Murray’s strategy may have backfired, as Jared Haibon and Caila Quinn nabbed the coveted alone time.
Bachelor in Paradise airs on ABC Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
