Widowed Dad Michael Allio Says Son Is in 'Good Hands' While He's Filming 'Bachelor in Paradise'

Michael Allio says he felt better prepared to take time away from his son to film Bachelor in Paradise than he did during his time on Katie Thurston's season of The Bachelorette

Photo: Michael Allio/Instagram

Michael Allio made sure his son would be well taken care of while he's away filming Bachelor in Paradise.

Allio, who is a single father after his wife died of breast cancer, shared with viewers the journey of welcoming a son together before her death. During Katie Thurston's season of The Bachelorette, Allio famously left the show to return home to his child.

When it came to joining the cast of Bachelorette in Paradise, Allio was working on more familiar ground than the first time around, he explains in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

"Since we've had some history of doing this in the past, we were a little bit more prepared this time around," Michael says of himself and his son James. "He's with my parents and my in-laws, and they came to him with this vacation package while I was gone."

He continues, "When I told him I was going away, he was like, 'I'm going to have so much more fun than you.' And I'm like, 'Little do you know.' "

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Michael Allio/Instagram

"He's in good hands," the loving dad adds. "I mean, I never would leave if I felt like he wasn't in a good place. I miss him already, and so it will be hard being away."

Michael explains that he made the decision to give BiP a shot as a way of "investing in myself," something he says doesn't come easily for many parents.

"I think a lot of parents, they have a tendency to lose themselves in the role of being a parent and you forget that they're humans too," he explains. "That have their own needs, that they are their own person."

"Taking three weeks out of the year, while it will be hard to be away from James, I think it's a necessary investment and I think it'll turn out to be good."

Craig Sjodin/ABC

Allio's choice to leave The Bacehlorette came after a heartbreaking phone call with a then-4-year-old James, in which the little boy wondered aloud whether his dad didn't want to see him.

"When your child says that, you answer the call," Allio told PEOPLE of the moment in July 2021.

"And I think a lot of single parents probably have to deal with the fact that when they're pursuing their own happiness, it does take a little bit from the time they're spending with their child. It's a constant balancing act that's happening. But I would do it all over again and make the same decisions."