The Real Reason These Contestants Were Kicked Off The Bachelor
The Bachelor has introduced America to many roses throughout the years, like former bachelor Sean Lowe and bachelorette Emily Maynard, to name a few beloved stars. Both leads demonstrated poise and grace during their seasons, and Lowe went on to start a family with his season's winner. But like the Poison song warns, every rose has its thorn. The Bachelor franchise is all too familiar with this sentiment, as it has cast many villains and shady characters during its decades-plus run. Although these contestants often made for good television, some of their behavior was too outlandish and inappropriate for producers to condone.
Take contestant Rozlyn Papa, for instance, a then single mom who appeared on Jake Pavelka's season in 2010. Papa was booted off the show after she allegedly hooked up with a male producer, a claim she has consistently denied. Or what about host Chris Harrison's epic showdown with Bachelor in Paradise star Chad Johnson? After Johnson made inappropriate remarks to another contestant, Harrison unceremoniously gave him the boot on-camera. The former reality star didn't take the news well, even going as far to insult Harrison during the tense conversation.
We'll have all the details on those two in a moment, and as you might imagine, they aren't the only contestants on the naughty list. Grab a bowl of popcorn and let's dissect why these Bachelor stars got kicked off the show.
Inappropriate hijinks behind-the-scenes
As viewers know by now, The Bachelor is a show where hopeful singles try to find love with an eligible bachelor or bachelorette. One person who didn't get this memo? Season 14 contestant Rozlyn Papa, who allegedly hooked up with a male producer on the show while she supposedly pursued love with bachelor Jake Pavelka. Yikes.
Here's what happened: During filming, Harrison and other Bachelor staffers were alerted that Papa had allegedly engaged in a physical relationship with one of the producers. Harrison then confronted Papa about the situation on-camera, before kicking her off the series. "I'm not sitting here in judgment of you, nobody is," he explained to Papa. "We're not saying it was wrong, it's something that happened."
Papa didn't address the situation at the time, arguing that it would put her in a "bad position." But she later denied any wrongdoing, stating during a radio interview (via Us Weekly): "There was no making out! Unfortunately, I did not get any out of this big sex scandal that supposedly happened. If I had known that I was going to get accused of it, maybe I would have gone for it!"
Harrison's position, however, has remained firm. "She had a physical relationship with a producer on our show," he told People. "You cannot do that. There is no gray area ... Other girls on the show saw it. The producer confessed more than once and to more than one person. I cannot make it any clearer."
No love for the lead
Sadly, it's not uncommon for a contestant to audition for The Bachelor while in a relationship. And sometimes, these aspiring reality stars don't break up with their significant others after they join the show.
Viewers got a taste of this phenomenon when Season 16 contestant Casey Shteamer was accused of carrying on a relationship with her boyfriend, Michael, during filming. Harrison presented Shteamer with the evidence, telling her that she wasn't in love with the season's lead, Benjamin Flajnik. Telling Shteamer that "four different people in the United States" backed up the claim, Harrison also said (via the Daily Mail), "From Michael's perspective anyway he said you guys are still in a relationship and he said that you guys spend practically every day and night together."
Shteamer broke down in front of Harrison, admitting: "I was completely in love with him and he told me from day one that he might not want to get married. A year ago I broke up with him and got back together because I still love him. Obviously my perfect scenario would be to be in love with Ben."
Obviously, Flajnik wasn't thrilled about Shteamer's predicament. "I wish you had been a bit more honest with me earlier on, that's all, because ... I feel like there are women who really, genuinely wanted to be here," a visibly frustrated Flajnik told her, adding, "I don't sugar coat things and I think that you should go home."
Shady, shady, and more shady
Out of all of the Bachelor contestants, Season 6 bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky might have endured most difficult road to love. Case in point: One of the men vying for Fedotowsky's heart dumped her on-camera after admitting he still had feelings for an ex. Sadly, Fedotowsky's bad fortune multiplied when it was revealed that contestant Justin Rego allegedly had a girlfriend back home in Canada. Fedotowsky even went as far to speak with Rego's supposed lady love on the phone, which gave her the strength to send him home. "It's disgusting what Justin did," she said (via Hollywood Life). "It makes me sick to my stomach. I want him on the first plane back to Canada!"
As for Rego's side of the story? He said he wasn't into Fedotowsky from the jump. "I knew Ali wasn't for me the third day in," he told Entertainment Tonight. "There were just a couple things where, I was just like, 'This girl is not for me.'"
Taking things a step further, Rego accused producers of dragging his storyline out of ratings. "I actually wanted to go home [while we were shooting in] Iceland but the [producers] wouldn't let me," he alleged.
Ah, a classic case of he said, she said.
No times for games, baby
Season 13 bachelorette Rachel Lindsay practiced law before she signed up to star on the show, an experience which helped her detect disingenuous contestants off the bat. And Lindsay's detective-like radar pinged when she learned that one of her guys, DeMario Jackson, was allegedly involved in a relationship back home. It's a tale that's starting to sound pretty familiar, right?
Instead of crying over the situation, Lindsay took a different approach to Jackson's supposed shadiness — she told him to "get the f**k out" of her life (via BuzzFeed). Well, then. While Jackson could have easily accepted the loss, he chose to accuse Lindsay of eliminating him because he's African-American. "From the beginning you knew that she was attracted to white men. You knew that. No disrespect, you just knew. She had that vibe," he told The E&G Podcast (via the Daily Mail.) Jackson then went on to attack Lindsay's character, adding: "What is portrayed out here is this sweet, nice, caring, compassionate girl, but it was like, the total opposite."
Lindsay wasn't impressed with Jackson's take, to say the least. "Demario never knew me and still doesn't," she commented on an Instagram photo promoting the podcast (via the Daily Mail). Enough said.
Quit playing games with our heart
Some contestants will do anything to win the lead over, like professing love too early on in the relationship. Season 14 bachelorette Becca Kufrin had to deal with this exact situation when one her guys, Jean Blanc, said he was "falling in love" with her. The problem? The pair hadn't gone on a one-on-one date yet, which made the confession seriously awkward.
"I know relationships are developing on a different pace and a different level, and I feel as though the connection really [has] always been there," he told Kufrin (via POPSUGAR). "I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I really haven't felt like this in a long time, and I wanted to let you know that I'm truly falling for you. And I'm falling in love with you."
After Blanc aired his feelings, Kufrin gently let him go right then and there. Everything between the two seemed OK at first, but then Blanc dropped a bombshell as Kufrin walked him out. "It's not necessarily where I'm at," he said about the confusing admission. "I just thought that's where you wanted to take things and you were ready and that's what you wanted to hear."
Obviously, the truth didn't go over well with Kufrin, who felt betrayed by Blanc. The good news? The bachelorette got engaged during the season's finale. Talk about a major win.
This wasn't a good look
It's an unspoken expectation that contestants should behave themselves while on the show, something Season 11 star Ryan McDill failed to do on night one. It all went down during The Bachelorette premiere, when Kaitlyn Bristowe was competing against Britt Nilsson for the lead position. After meeting the two ladies, McDill allegedly got drunk, called them a "h*s," groped Bristowe, and made an offensive joke, according to the Daily Mail. "Why am I not raping you right now?" McDill said to fellow contestant J.J. Lane, who questioned his inappropriate behavior. Yikes.
Harrison had no patience for McDill's childish antics and he booted him from the house ASAP. "I hate to do this, but you're clearly not here for either of these girls," he told the wild contestant.
After accepting his fate with little pushback, McDill double-downed on his behavior in a tell-all interview with TMZ. "I wasn't blacked out," he told the outlet (via Us Weekly). "And knew exactly what I was doing." The bad boy also didn't apologize for his rape comment, stating: "People need to get off their high horse. It was awesome and entertaining."
But McDill noticeably contradicted himself in another interview with Entertainment Tonight: "I wasn't interested in Kaitlyn, but was interested in Britt. I felt it was obvious Britt wasn't going to be the one, so I just started being entertaining and got way too drunk, started acting crazy, and it turned into gold." Sigh.
Breakdown in paradise
Rule number one in #BachelorNation? Don't go against Harrison, even if you think you're in the right. Bachelor in Paradise star Chad Johnson learned this lesson the hard way, after he bashed the host for drinking mimosas. Don't worry folks, we'll explain.
The drama popped off during Season 3 of Bachelor Paradise in August 2016, when Johnson was filmed insulting his fellow cast mates. He called contestant Lace Morris a "b***h," threatened to "murder everyone," and dubbed cast mate Sarah Herron a "one-armed b***h" (via The Hollywood Reporter). The last jab is particularly upsetting because Herron was born with a physical disability.
Johnson also had it out for the show's beloved bartenders, telling them to "suck a d**k." Ugh, did he really have to go there?
Luckily for everyone involved, Harrison intervened and kicked Johnson off of the show pronto. The reality star didn't take the firing well, to put it mildly, and he threw a bizarre insult Harrison's way. "You're going to come here and make me look like a b***h? ... You act like you've seen me — you didn't even watch it. You went to sleep last night with a mimosa and a robe on," he yelled. "You don't even watch this show." Johnson also threw in a "f**k you, dude," for good measure during his rant.
Although Johnson eventually apologized and tweeted that he was "disappointed in [himself]" for insulting Herron, he later backtracked, calling the events "hilarious."
Don't mess with the mama bear
Anyone who is familiar with Season 8 Bachelorette lead Emily Maynard knows she's a devoted mom, which is why it's no surprise that she lost it on a suitor named Kalon McMahon who referred to her then young daughter, Ricki, as "baggage."
McMahon's supposed remark came to light after one of the contestants, Chris Bukowski, confided in fellow cast mate Arie about the situation. "Over the last few days, Kalon had some words that were pretty insulting to Emily and insulting to the guys here for the right reasons," he claimed (via Us Weekly). "Kalon was saying stuff I was shocked to hear. General stuff about Emily — that she has a lot of baggage."
Another cast mate, Doug Clerget, then bought the conversation to Maynard's attention, who was obviously upset."I want to go out there and rip his limbs off and beat him with them," she said. "I want to go West Virginia, hood rat, backwoods on his ass. That's how much I love my daughter." Maynard then ordered McMahon to "get the f**k out." You go, momma.
McMahon initially said his comment was taken out of context, but he later apologized at the "Men Tell All" show. "I'm trying to use it as a growing experience in my future relationships and I really wish the best for you," he said (via Us Weekly).