There are now over 20 seasons of The Bachelorette and, with so many seasons, viewers have met handsome men, teared over sweet proposals, and watched leads give out many, many red roses. Although the intent of the show is for two strangers to fall in love in a matter of months, there’s so much more to unpack, as having a group of men vying for one woman’s attention can spell drama. And, boy, has there been a ton of drama, rejection, and controversial moments.
There have been several shocking moments on The Bachelorette that have made fans and viewers alike question if it was all cleverly crafted by producers or all very real. These moments live rent-free in our heads, because some have resulted in scandal, tabloid headlines, and even changed viewers’ perception of some contestants and leads.
9 Clare Crawley Quitting In The Middle Of Her Season
Tayshia Adams Replaced Clare In Season 16
There’s that saying that goes, “When you know, you know,” and for The Bachelorette’s Season 16’s Clare Crawley, she knew contestant Dale Moss was the guy for her after the season’s fourth episode. Clare came into the season as the oldest lead in Bachelorette history, but she shocked viewers when she decided to cut her time short after admitting she was in love with Dale.
Clare Crawley’s Birthday: | March 20, 1981 |
Dale Moss’ Birthday: | September 24, 1988 |
It was totally unfair to the other men as Clare gave most if not all her attention to Dale. After a meeting with then-host Chris Harrison, Clare decided to walk away from the series and Dale proposed to her. Because of this, Tayshia Adams came in the middle of the season and took her place.
8 Luke Parker On Hannah Brown’s Season
Luke P. Became One Of The Most Hated Men On The Franchise
Luke Parker was a contestant on Season 15, which featured Hannah Brown as the lead, and he would later become known as one of the most controversial contestants on Bachelor Nation. Luke, who was one of Hannah’s final four men, had a huge problem with her being intimate with the other contestants and wasn’t afraid to let Hannah know.
Who was he to tell Hannah what to do? Hannah and the viewers were appalled when Luke had the nerve to tell her that he would leave if she had sex with any of the other men.
“I don’t believe that’s something you should be doing, and I just want to make sure that you’re not going to be sexually intimate with the other relationships here.”
Well, poor Luke, Hannah did get intimate during fantasy suite week, not once, but twice and in the windmill. (She later revealed it was four times!) Hannah sent Luke packing after their exchange.
7 Bentley Williams Pretending To Like Ashley Hebert
Bentley Admitted He Wasn’t Attracted To Ashley
Ashley Hebert was Season 7’s Bachelorette, and she unfortunately had to deal with a contestant that wasn’t there for the right reasons. Bentley Williams joined the group of men vying for Ashley’s affections, but he made it known that he wasn’t there to win her heart. In fact, Bentley admitted that he had hopes that Emily Maynard would be the Bachelorette.
Bentley said some very revolting things about Ashley. He made comments about liking her body and hoped he could sleep with her, despite not being attracted to her. “I would literally rather be like swimming in pee, then trying to plan a wedding with her. I’m not thinking like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is like the girl of my dreams.'” Bentley later made the decision to leave on his own. Good riddance.
6 Ali Fedotowsky Getting A Call From A Contestant’s Girlfriend
Ali Handled That Situation Like A Boss
It’s sad that there have been several contestants on Bachelor Nation that come on the show just to get a boost in their careers. It’s happened way too many times to count, with one of the earliest examples of this being a contestant on Season 6, which featured Ali Fedotowsky as lead.
In an episode, Ali confronts contestant Justin Rego in front of the other men about having a girlfriend back home. Instead of talking to Ali about the revelations and maybe, even apologizing to her like a man, he simply walks out of the room and walks away from the cameras.
As Cosmopolitan revealed, Ali received a phone call from Justin’s girlfriend letting her know that they had been in a relationship for two years and that she allowed him to go on the show to help his career. The reason she outed Justin was that she found that he was being unfaithful to her. Ouch.
5 DeMario Jackson Denying His Girlfriend Who Showed Up On His Date With Rachel Lindsay
Rachel Sent DeMario Packing
Bachelor Nation producers love to fuel drama, and they did that perfectly when Rachel Linsday was The Bachelorette lead in Season 13. Viewers will most likely remember when Rachel went on a group date that included contestant DeMario Jackson. However, he was caught in a lie about his relationship status when it was revealed that he had a girlfriend back home.
Not only did he lie, but DeMario’s girlfriend, Lexi, showed up to his group date with Rachel! DeMario denied knowing Lexi, and even called her a “psycho.” He then admitted to knowing her and told Rachel that the pair broke up before her season, but Lexi had the receipts that proved he was the one lying. Rachel immediately sent him home.
4 Ashley Hebert Rejecting Ben Flajnik’s Proposal
Ben Was Ready To Propose Before Ashley Shot Him Down
In Ashley Hebert’s season, contestants Ben Flajnik and J.P. Rosenbaum were the last men standing. The finale is always bittersweet, as the lead always has to let one of the final two men down. However, instead of telling Ben that she was not going to choose him from the start, she allowed him to deliver his amazing speech about why they should be together. In fact, he even got down on one knee ready to propose to her. But, Ashley told him he wasn’t the one.
As Us Weekly reported, during the After the Final Rose special, Ben stated that the day was a blur. “All I remember is me being down on one knee and her saying no, and having the courage to stand up.”
3 Ian Thompson Thinking He’s Better Than Every Contestant And Kaitlyn Bristowe
As much as fans really disliked Ian Thompson, who was a contestant on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s Season 11, the way he talked so highly of himself was just so ridiculous to not make this list. As Cosmopolitan reported, Ian bragged about being way more educated than the other suitors and even talked negatively of Kaitlyn.
“I don’t understand why Kaitlyn wouldn’t want a Princeton graduate, former model that defied death, and had been around the world a couple times.”
When Ian was sent home, he had a lot more to say, calling Kaitlyn “surface level,” “shallow,” and that she was “not as complex” as he was. He continued to ramble about how great he was while in the car going home, stating, “I’m being punished for being an intellectual.” In fact, Ian even made his case for why he should be the next Bachelor. Unfortunately for Ian, his dreams didn’t come true.
The Man Becca Kufrin Chose In The End Had A Lot Of Explaining To Do
After Becca Kufrin was shockingly dumped by Arie Luyendyk Jr. in his season after proposing to her, Becca got her own chance to find love when she was made The Bachelorette for Season 14. In the finale, Becca accepted Garret Yrigoyen’s proposal and the two were set on spending the rest of their lives together.
After the season concluded, internet sleuths discovered very disturbing things about Garrett, which included liking social media posts that promoted hate towards trans people, feminists, and mocking Parkland High School shooting survivors. Garrett owned up to liking the offensive posts and issued an apology. Becca stuck by his side throughout the controversy, but the two split a short time later.
1 Producers Making The Men Pick The Next Bachelorette
The Suitors Got To Choose Between Kaitlyn Bristowe And Britt Nilsson
Bachelor Nation producers changed things up a bit and allowed the suitors to decide which Bachelorette they wanted to pursue. In Season 11, the men met both Kaitlyn Bristowe and Britt Nilsson (who were both rejected in Chris Soules’ season) as they got out of the limo. After meeting the two ladies, they later went into a very dark room where they cast their vote for who they would rather pursue.
Kaitlyn ended up getting to be the lead, but that just meant Britt was rejected for a second time in Bachelor Nation. Also, having the male contestants in control on a show that’s supposed to be about a woman making the tough decisions was just not okay.
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