“You are most definitely here for the right reasons.” This sentence is said in some form or another every season on “The Bachelor.”
For those who don’t know, the first season of “The Bachelor” premiered in 2002 on ABC. It featured a man trying to find his forever person out of 25 women.
To weed out the ones that don’t fit, he will go on group dates, one-on-ones, and sometimes two-on-ones. These excursions are so they can form connections and get to know each other on a deeper level.
At the end of these dates is the oh-so-iconic, rose ceremony. This is where the bachelor gives out roses to the girls he connects with the most. He’ll hand them all out until there’s a final rose; once that’s given away, the rest are sent packing with their tissues and broken hearts.
This reality TV show might not be successful in guaranteeing that someone will find their true love, but it brings in tons of money for ABC’s network. I’m not ashamed to say that I am one of those consumers!
Due to the show’s popularity, they created other variations of “The Bachelor,” like “The Bachelorette,” “Bachelor in Paradise,” and the newest, “The Golden Bachelor.” This year, there will be the first-ever season of “The Golden Bachelorette” so be on the lookout. It’s never too late to find love!
The latest controversy with the franchise aired on Tuesday, Sept. 3, concluding Bachelorette Jenn Tran’s season. You might be wondering what happened that caused so much uproar among fans. Make sure you’re sitting down for this one!
Jenn Tran, the first Asian American bachelorette in history, had her heart torn between two men (if you can even call these two that…) during the final weeks. After a heartfelt conversation with North Carolina military veteran Marcus Shoberg, who was clearly battling demons within himself; was not ready for a serious engagement with Tran. Shoberg clearly needs a therapy book (if you know, you know). Tran sending Shoberg home meant she was going into the next day’s all-in on Devin Strader, an entrepreneur working for a freight company.
It’s safe to say the end of this season shocked fans because Strader had been all lovey-dovey and devoted. He even defended Tran in multiple situations that arose inside the house with the other men. Strader had us all fooled…
The finale setup is a live audience including fans, friends, family, and previous or prior contestants on the show. Jesse Palmer, the show’s host, called Tran onto the stage.
Normally, the proposal would be shown, and there would be tears of joy as the happy couple walked, hands intertwined on stage. Instead, Palmer told the audience that wouldn’t happen. Leading Tran to explain what transpired after she and Strader left Hawaii. It was there that Tran completely broke down, visibly crying.
“I’m sorry,” she explained through tears, “It’s been a really hard couple of months. We had left Hawaii engaged, like very happy, happiest day of my life. I thought that I had found the person I was gonna spend the rest of my life with…As soon as we had left Hawaii things were just different. It kind of just felt like he was pulling away.”
She explained that his words and actions were very inconsistent. He started ignoring phone calls and texts. They hadn’t planned to move in together or relocate since they left the island. Tran even admitted Strader didn’t bring her around his family anymore.
“Every little thing made me feel secondary to his life. And I didn’t understand why…He called me and broke off the engagement,” she said. Gasps can be heard echoing throughout Bachelor Nation! Oh, snap!
Strader was called onto the stage, and the crowd was dead silent as he sat next to Tran and grabbed her on the knee. An unnecessary and demeaning gesture coming from the guy who broke things off with her over a phone call. Right? Tran questioned Strader about what went wrong in their relationship. Strader gave zero explanation (sociopathic behavior) and finagled his way through every question by placing the blame on himself, saying he “failed her.” Tran mentioned how disrespectful Strader had been after calling off the engagement, like going clubbing with the other guys, following other girl contestants on Instagram, and even promoting the show using pictures of them as a couple.
When the proposal video was shown to the audience, Strader had no emotion, looking straight through her. She broke down again while she watched herself propose. As shocking as all that was to us fans, this wasn’t even the worst part of the finale.
The worst part is that Palmer attempted to empathize with Tran, calling her “strong” while she’s humiliated by watching the proposal.
“…My biggest hope is that when you see that back, a small part of you feels empowered because you really did do things your way,” Palmer said.
There’s a difference between showing support and coming off as if you pity someone. And to have Tran watch that in front of her friends and family was disgusting. As an audience member watching from my couch, it was hard to watch this poor woman go through distress all alone. She should have been seated next to her mother and brother, who could have offered support, instead of Strader.
Because of this, fans took to social media to share opinions on the franchise and the network’s handling. They brought up how “The Bachelor” seasons are seemingly more entertaining and likable than how they portray “The Bachelorette.” This brings to question whether ABC purposefully portrays women as fragile within their shows, especially reality TV.
The proposal should have been kept private. Things between Tran and Strader ended on bad terms, so to protect their mental health, it should have been edited out. Reality TV might be for the viewer’s pleasure, but at the end of the day, they are people. Where do we draw the line between entertainment and cruelty?
