The match was made in Mexico. Michael Allius and Danielle Maltby have both weathered tragedy, but they got a second chance at love during season 8 of Bachelor in Paradise.
The small business owner made his Bachelor Nation debut when Katie Thurstonseason of The Bachelorette in 2021, but in the end he cut himself off because he didn’t want to leave his son, James, alone at home. The Ohio native shared James with his wife Laura, who died of breast cancer in 2019.
Maltby, for his part, appeared on Nick Viallseason of Scholar, which aired in 2017. Before appearing on the ABC dating show, the neonatal nurse was in a relationship with Nick Haag. The couple had been engaged for just three months when Haag died of a drug overdose in 2011 aged 29.
“Today marks 10 years since my fiancé passed away. I’ve been thinking about it for the past month,” the reality star wrote via Instagram in March 2021. “To anyone who has lost someone, [or] it’s working at that time – it’s okay to like it again. It’s okay to laugh even if it makes you feel like crap at first. It’s okay to feel heavy when your song is on the radio.”
When Allio first came to the beach in Mexico, he joined the Sierra Jacksonthe first competition in Clayton Echardseason of Scholar. The duo seemed to have a strong relationship, but Allio later told the yoga instructor that she wasn’t ready to get serious. Jackson then leaves the beach after deciding he doesn’t want to watch Allio explore relationships with other women.
Maltby arrived in the second week after Jackson’s exit and quickly asked Allio out on a one-on-one date. Bartender Wells Adams it was later revealed that he played a role in encouraging the duo to pursue each other.
“He cut it, but I told @MichaelAllio I have someone for him and then went up the stairs of heaven, welcomed @daniellemmaltby and told him to find Michael,” Adams tweeted in October 2022. When one of the fans replied that he was “angry” scene was removed, Adams replied, “To be honest.”
In November 2022, the Best in Dough special host to Us Weekly that Allio and Maltby “do all the heavy lifting” although they help set the wheels in motion. “But listen, I love what I have and I love Danielle,” Adams added. “He’s been a close friend of mine for a long time, and Michael is the sweetest guy in the world. And I was like, ‘These guys should just meet and hang out. Let’s see what happens.’ And I was right!”
The pair didn’t get engaged during the season finale, but they did exchange the L word – and agreed to see each other after filming. “Meeting Danielle has changed my life,” Allio said during the season 8 reunion special, which airs in November 2022. “I’ve only ever said I love you to one person in my life, but I love you.”
Keep scrolling for a timeline of Allio and Maltby’s romance: