The Bachelor franchise has had an influx of issues with cast members in the most recent seasons, and with several contestants having gotten through the casting process with restraining orders against them, it seems the show doesn’t entirely care about its cast members. Throughout the last seasons of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and The Golden Bachelorette, there have been contestants who have rubbed Bachelor Nation the wrong way. Though there are always contestants who aren’t interesting to Bachelor Nation because of their storylines, typically they aren’t a danger to others if they’re getting the opportunity to be on the show.
With The Bachelorette season 21 inviting Devin Strader into the cast to fight for Jenn Tran’s heart with major blemishes on his record, viewers began to become skeptical of what kind of checks were going into the show’s casting. Though there have been legal issues with Bachelor stars in the past, seeing a contestant make it to the end of a season and have major problems ignored entirely until fans discovered them online was shocking. The trend continued onto the current season of The Golden Bachelorette, where two of the guys vying for Joan Vassos’ heart have had legal troubles.
While there have been some major blemishes on The Bachelor and its spin-offs in the past, things have been taking a turn for the worse in recent seasons. Though it’s possible that the franchise has simply been hiding things better in recent years, the influx of issues with contestants has many worried about the safety standards that are being followed by the casting team of the show. With so many issues in the last few seasons, and an abundance of problems overall in the show’s history, Bachelor producers may not care about their cast enough for the show to continue.
The Bachelorette’s Devin Strader Had A Violent Past
His Ex-Girlfriend Documented His Issues
Although The Bachelorette season 21 was difficult from the beginning, Jenn’s season was supposed to be a celebration of her as the first Asian American Bachelorette. Despite Jenn not being the first choice for the lead of the season, the guys who were involved seemed like they were happy to meet and get to know her as things progressed. Jenn was able to get to know the guys of her season and weeded through some of the more problematic guys early on, but a few were able to deceive her for weeks on end as the show continued to film.
Devin, who was a front-runner throughout the season and quickly became a Bachelor Nation villain for seemingly love-bombing Jenn almost immediately, made it clear that he was on the show to find love. After going through the entire Bachelorette process and accepting a proposal from Jenn, Devin’s past began to make itself known to viewers. After an ex confirmed that Devin had a violent past, it was discovered he’d had a restraining order against him for stalking and violent behavior during his college years. Though he was apologetic eventually, Devin’s behavior spoke for itself and overwhelmed the Bachelor Nation audience.
The Golden Bachelorette’s Gil Ramirez Was Obsessive With An Ex
He Wouldn’t Leave His Ex Alone
Although Devin’s past was a struggle for Bachelor Nation to get past, they were determined that The Golden Bachelorette season 1’s lead was going to have a good journey. Hopeful that Bachelor producers had learned their lessons with Devin and certain that they’d take care of Joan, viewers were excited to get to know the guys of The Golden Bachelorette season 1’s cast. Learning more about the men, including The Bachelor season 28 winner Kelsey Anderson’s father Mark Anderson, viewers were hopeful about their nature. Unfortunately, it quickly came out that The Golden Bachelorette ’s Gil Ramirez had faced past issues.
Gil, who was eliminated from the series early, presented as a kind, funny guy during the first stretch of episodes, but he was a lot more sinister than he seemed. It was revealed that Gil also had a restraining order out against him from a recent ex, who shared that in the months leading up to the show filming, Gil had been obsessively calling and texting her, trying to get in touch with her to no avail. Though the ex had tried to let Gil know she wasn’t interested, he hadn’t stopped and she’d gotten a restraining order against him.
A Second Golden Bachelorette Restraining Order Was Revealed
One Of Joan’s Finalists Has Legal Issues
After Gil was largely edited out of the show, The Golden Bachelorette viewers hoped that there would be no other surprises down the road. Unfortunately, it was discovered that one of Joan’s Golden Bachelorette finalists Guy Gansert had a temporary protective order filed against him in the past. The order, which was ultimately dismissed by Guy’s ex-wife, asked that he only contact her via email about their children, and didn’t communicate with her otherwise. While Guy has seemed kind on the series, hearing about his troubling marital issues made it clear Bachelor producers didn’t do a thorough background check.
Bachelor Producers Don’t Value Their Leads Safety
Why Are So Many Problematic Men Being Cast?
Although The Bachelor and its spin-offs obviously do some kind of background checks with their contestants, the checks clearly aren’t thorough enough for leads to feel safe with the contestants anymore. After three restraining orders in two seasons, it’s obvious that Bachelor producers aren’t being careful with their leads, and more problematic cast members are to come if they don’t take action. The producers behind The Bachelorette and The Golden Bachelorette value the spectacle of the series more than the safety of their cast members and need to change things if The Bachelor franchise is going to continue on successfully.
