As Tayshia Adams and Ivan Hall froze their bottom halves off on Monday's episode of The Bachelorette to break the record for the longest, coldest kiss, host Chris Harrison was joined on the date by a special judge – Paul "Big Paulie" Danner. Though Chris introduced Paulie as an "Ice Bath Kiss Expert," this isn't actually his job title. Rather, he's the ABC franchise's stage manager and security.
This season of The Bachelorette has been chock-full of surprise appearances. Former Bachelorette Jojo Fletcher took over Chris' hosting duties while he helped his son get settled at college. Earlier on, Becca Kufrin and Sydney Lotuaco helped Tayshia put her men to the test in a hilariously daunting game of Truth or Dare. On Monday night's episode, renowned jeweler Neil Lane – the brains behind every dazzling engagement ring seen on the show – popped up during Tayshia's final date with Brendan Morais.
Jojo, Becca, and Neil are familiar names and faces within Bachelor Nation. But Big Paulie? Not so much. So, who is this man brought on to observe Tayshia and Ivan kiss for six-plus minutes while submerged in tubs of ice water? According to EW, as stage manager, the 6'3" Army veteran and former actor keeps the production of The Bachelorette, The Bachelor, and Bachelor In Paradise running smoothly. Paulie said, "My job is pretty much being the middle man between everything, keeping us on schedule, putting out fires when we can. If you have a problem, come talk to me and I can talk to people who are higher up and then we'll figure it out."
Paulie is also called on from time to time to calm down (and escort off set) havoc-wrecking contestants. Paulie named Bachelor In Paradise's Chad Johnson, who was verbally abusive to cast and crew, as his most memorable security moment. "That was the most serious at the time, where I feared for Chris [Harrison]. Most of the time when it starts, I'm just trying to look out for the crew... We had another incident with a gentleman, I forget who it was - he was freaking out in the rose room in his underwear. He started throwing roses at the camera crew..." Another highlight for Paulie was kicking in the bathroom door on The Bachelor season 14 when Rozlyn Papa locked herself in. Based on fans' confused tweets during Tayshia and Ivan's date, much of Bachelor Nation was unfamiliar with Paulie's behind-the-scenes work. See the tweet below.
However, Paulie's brief stint as an "Ice Bath Kiss Expert" wasn't his first time appearing onscreen. Paulie originally moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, and Bachelor producers have allowed him to live out that dream as a butler, bartender, and more. "...They'd rent me a suit and I'd come wait on people, open doors ... I get more airtime being myself than I ever did when I was acting, which is amazing." Some viewers were thrilled to see Paulie grace their TV screen once again. See the tweet below.
When will Big Paulie get some more air time? The Bachelor season 21 is being filmed in a quarantine "bubble" at the Nemacolin Resort in Pennsylvania, so the ability to have outside guests will be severely limited. This means Paulie could very well add a new fictional title to his ever-growing resume, and we can't wait to see what it is.
Source: Entertainment Weekly, Kristen Baldwin/Twitter, @claireha4426
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