Jumping to conclusions! MTV’s The Challenge fans went into a social media frenzy on Wednesday, January 3, when Laurie Heineman, a New York City fan of the show, spotted Paul Calafiore driving with a blonde woman and posted the pics on Twitter.
“I was just waiting to see Hamilton and not wait in the long line… I spy a Paulie and a blonde possibly named Danielle,” the fan wrote, adding “#BoyBye.” However, a few hours later, RealitySteve identified the woman as Demi Burnett, a 23-year-old contestant on the upcoming season of The Bachelor, in which she’ll compete for Colton Underwood’s heart.
@CaraMariaMTV i love you girl but keep this kid on the curb @PaulCalafiore_ I was just waiting to see hamilton and not wait in the long line… I spy a paulie and a blonde possibly named danielle. #TeamCara @TMZ #BoyBye pic.twitter.com/QJrJosIlVP
— Laurie (@chickenstix104) January 3, 2019
However, it wasn’t a romantic outing, a source close to the situation tells Us Weekly. Instead, it was an advice session. With season 23 of The Bachelor premiering on Monday, January 7, Demi reached out to the former Big Brother star, 30, because she’s not sure how she’s going to be perceived on the show — Us Weekly reported that she gets “hot and heavy” with the suitor night one. However, she and Paulie have been friends for months and it’s nothing romantic.
“Paulie understands that he’s the ultimate villain on TV right now. He knows that people see him a certain way, but ultimately, he’s always there to help people if they want to chat,” an insider tells Us.
Meanwhile, Paulie has one thing in mind: Cara Maria Sorbello.
“I’m working myself. I’ve made it very clear that I want to win Cara back and I plan on doing that,” he said in a statement to Us.
Cara Maria and Paulie have been dating since wrapping The Challenge: Final Reckoning. However, the pair recently called it quits after she learned that he had still been seeing his ex, The Bachelor alum Danielle Maltby.
All three parties recently joined the “Watch With Us” podcast and opened up about the situation.
“Everything’s out there. I can’t take back what I did. Did I keep Danielle from Cara the whole time? Yeah, I did,” the former DJ told Us. “I was afraid to admit what was going on to Cara because I loved her and she was so free spirited, I thought that she would just leave me. Does that make it right? No.”
