Opening up!

Bachelor Nation fans first met Jill Chin on Season 26 of “The Bachelor,” and she’s looking for love again on Season 8 of “Bachelor in Paradise.”

Now, she sat down exclusively with us here at BachelorNation.com for a catch-up about all things “Paradise” and more.

Check out Jill’s full interview below.

Bachelor Nation: How has your experience been watching “Bachelor in Paradise” back so far?

Jill Chin: Honestly, I feel like watching yourself back is always a little tough. Hindsight is 20/20, and you always just kind of cringe at some parts. There are also some parts where I wish I handled things better. But it’s been a lot of fun being able to see my personality come through. My journey thus far has definitely been harder to watch, though.

BN: Was your experience in “Paradise” what you expected it to be or was it different?

JC: Oh gosh, it was so different. I don’t think anything can really prepare you for “Paradise.” No matter how much advice you get from people or how you think you’re mentally prepared, you will definitely come across so many challenges with interpersonal relationships. It was definitely surprising how hard it was. I think just having the focus be on my love story and having the opportunity to talk to so many different people and having other people’s feelings involved was tough at times. On “The Bachelor,” you’re just worried about your relationship with yourself and the lead, but in “Paradise,” everybody is involved with everybody. I really tried to tread lightly with everyone’s feelings.

BN: That makes a lot of sense! Speaking of “The Bachelor,” were your expectations of what you were looking for different going into “Paradise?”

JC: Yeah. Going into “The Bachelor,” you always hope that you have that immediate spark with the lead, but this time, I really just wanted to get to know everybody and try to find my perfect match. There are just so many more options. And with new people coming down each week, you really have to guard your heart and you have to focus on the people that you’re interested in. It was crazy that everything could change in a matter of moments!

BN: And before coming to “Paradise,” was there anyone you were really hoping to see there?

JC: Obviously, I really wanted to see all of my friends there because I wanted the support and the comfort of having them there. But romantically, I was really excited to see Rodney there. I was just super interested in trying to get to know him, so I was really hoping to see him there.

BN: Love that! Were there specific qualities you were looking for in a partner when coming to “Paradise?”

JC: Yeah, I was really hoping for emotional intelligence and emotional maturity. That’s really important to me. I need someone I can feel safe with and I can be myself around. I was hoping to meet someone who I could have deep conversations with but also goof around and be lighthearted with. I don’t think we can really predict chemistry, so I was open to whoever. I was more just looking for a feeling.

BN: Absolutely! And can you tell us a little bit about your relationship with Romeo prior to coming to the beach?

JC: Romeo and I met in New York and I was actually with Kira when I met him. There was definitely some kind of interest from the first day, but we never crossed that line. We never kissed and never went on any dates or anything like that. As our friendship progressed, I would describe it as being flirty friends. Then I found out he and Kira kissed one night at the club and they didn’t tell me at first, so I was really hurt by that. We eventually actually squashed the beef before coming to “Paradise” and I had talked to both of them about it. Everything seemed fine. We just all went our separate ways because it felt like the trust had been broken, so we just focused on other friendships. I thought we were fine, so when I saw their interactions in “Paradise,” I was shocked that any of it would resurface.

BN: Were you surprised that you found yourself interested in Romeo again in “Paradise” after that trust was broken?

JC: That first day when I saw him, I knew we would have a conversation, I just didn’t really know what that would look like. We sat down for the first time after not talking in months and then just kept getting interrupted by Kira, which was frustrating to me. He promised he wanted a fresh start and clean slate with me, so I thought I could potentially explore something under those conditions, but then it became clear that wasn’t going to happen. It was not so much a clean slate.

BN: Now that the drama with Romeo seems to be behind you, what can fans expect from the rest of your “Paradise” journey?

JC: I think people can look forward to a quirky couple coming into the mix that’s definitely unexpected! I’m also excited for people to see me try to do the love thing for once!

BN: Yes! And is there anything else you want Bachelor Nation fans to know about you?

JC: Everyone always comes after me for being super emotional and dramatic, but that’s just the way I am. I am a little dramatic and I am super emotional. I don’t necessarily think either of those are a bad thing! But what people have to realize is that when we’re in “Paradise,” it’s a heightened version of ourselves. We are being put in these situations we’ve never been in before and we don’t know how to navigate these situations. I think people just expect me to act normal in a very abnormal situation. So you see me acting quite abnormal sometimes, but everything is 100% me!