Alex Nation had no idea Richie Strahan would be on Bachelor in Paradise when she signed up.

Alex Nation has definitely had one of the most complex storylines in the Bachelor franchise – both on and off screen.

The single mum was portrayed as the ‘stage 5 clinger’ in Richie Strahan’s season of The Bachelor. Then she broke the mold and actually got her happy ending in the series finale.

Richie chose Alex over Nikki Gogan and they lived happily ever after, for at least a few months.

In the weeks and months following the finale episode, we discovered that Alex and Richie were no longer together. It was then announced that Alex was dating her AFL team mate Maegan Luxa.

Things are heating up in paradise. Post continues after video…

That relationship has since ended and Alex is now about to appear on Bachelor in Paradise for another chance at love (and a never-ending supply of mango daiquiris).

She’ll be appearing alongside Richie, a fact she said she wasn’t made aware of when she signed up for the show.

“No they actually told me that he declined three times,” she told 90.9 Sea FM’s Heather, Dan & Ben on Tuesday.

“So it was a total stitch up?” asked one of the hosts. “When you say ‘there’s my ex boyfriend’ is that a genuine [moment]?”

“That is the moment. That is the moment I clocked him,” Alex replied.

“So, they said that he declined three times and I was in the clear. Because I kind of said look I don’t really want to see him again under these terms and in that kind of environment.

“And they were like look he’s declined, we don’t think he’s interested and is going to call us and change his mind,” she explained. “But apparently 48 hours prior to flying out to Fiji he did.”

Alex went on to say it was “disappointing” that it happened that way, but she’s trying to trust that it was actually a 48 hour turnaround and not a ruse planned by the producers.

“At the end of the day they’re trying to make a television show,” she said. “And I think that when they knew they’d locked me in, if they could lock him in, that was gold for them.”

Promos for the show, which premieres on Channel Ten at 7.30pm tonight, show Alex and Richie locked in a confrontation about their breakup.

“I was obviously in a relationship with Alex and, well, the circumstances of that breakup were quite brutal,” Richie tells Osher in a teaser video.

“I don’t know if Australia’s ready for the grubby details surrounding it.”

Oh. We’re ready.

Bachelor in Paradise premieres on Channel Ten at 7.30pm on Tuesday April 9.