Bachelor in Paradise's Kathy Swarts on Golden Bachelor's age comments: 'He said something without really thinking'

Kathy Swarts stormed into Bachelor Nation's collective consciousness in October 2023 when she told Theresa Nist to "zip it" during a group pickleball date on The Golden Bachelor.

Now, the 72-year-old retired educational consultant from Texas is making waves once again as the first Golden contestant to go on a one-on-one on Bachelor in Paradise. Entertainment Weekly grilled the no-nonsense grandmother of three about her first impressions of Paradise; getting flirty with Keith in the hot tub; that scandalous secret that earned her the date card in the first place; her reaction to new Golden Bachelor Mel Owens' comments about dating women over 60; and more.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was your biggest reservation heading into Paradise?

KATHY SWARTS: Truly, I didn't have one reservation about heading into Paradise. Who would not want to go to a beautiful resort with air conditioning, by the way? Pool, ocean, great people, the chance to find love. I don't know who would have any reservations about that.

Would you have gone if the show still filmed at the resort in Mexico with no air conditioning?

I probably would. I live in Texas. Sweat is just part of my day. [Laughs]

In last night's episode, we saw that April was rooming with Kat. Who did you room with and how did it go?

I roomed with Leslie and it was great because I knew Leslie from Golden Bachelor and we just had a great time. We laughed and had a great time.

Except for when the bat got in your room.

That bat had my name on it. "Let's go find Kathy!" And I couldn't get out of that room fast enough. Interestingly, I live in Austin, where the largest bat colony in North America resides in the summer, and I really felt like this is like someone's playing a joke. Like, someone thinks this is funny to bring in one of the bats from Austin. So no, I did not enjoy that part of Paradise. [Laughs]

You got the date card, but not before you revealed during the secrets game that you once slept with another person in your home while your partner was in another room. Kathy, we need the full story here!

It's a very short story. The other person was my son, who was about two years old at the time, and my partner was actually my husband. And why was I sleeping with my 2-year-old son? Because he was projectile vomiting. My husband had to get up for work the next day and so I put [my son] in the bed with me and told my husband to go sleep in the room next door. I'm a wordsmith, and I wanted to win that game. Jesse Palmer said, "This is going to be a great [prize], you really want to win this." So I sat down and thought, how do I win it? You're dealing with young people. What do young people talk about and think about? Sex. So I had to allude to the fact that there was something risqué going on and it worked.

The young’uns always talk about which contestants were on their “list” before they come to Paradise — who was on your list?

Well, you have to remember we only had one season of The Golden Bachelorette. So really I was pretty interested to meet any of Joan's contestant from her season, but particularly for me, I would say CK and Keith. Those were the two I really wanted to get to know.

You and Keith seemed to have a good time on your date. How would you rate the chemistry, and should we expect to see more of you together in future episodes?

Well, you'll definitely see some more of me in future episodes, but you're going to have to tune in to see what happens with Keith and me. I will say he is a great dad. There's a reason this man successfully raised three daughters. He knows how to treat a woman.

The Goldens came in ready to GO — we saw flirting, hand-holding, and kissing on day one. Who surprised you the most?

Well, I don't know if you noticed, but Natascha was sitting on RJ's lap, oh I don't know, 30 seconds after we got on that catamaran. So she was wasting absolutely no time getting to know him. [Laughs]

Last month, the new Golden Bachelor, Mel Owens, said that he doesn’t want to date women over 60. What would your advice for him be, as he’ll certainly meet a lot of women over 60 on the show?

I think that if Mel Owens met me — and I'm over 70 — that line would just not even be in his mouth. It'd be like, "Whoa, I never knew someone could be this fabulous over 60, over 70." I think he's going to be just fine... I think Mel is a guy looking for love and I think he said something without really thinking about it. I don't think he meant it. I think it's going to be a great season. I personally can't wait — unless I swoop in and take him away. In which case, show over!

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Bachelor in Paradise airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.