What Happened To Olivia Caridi After The Bachelor?
The last time Olivia Caridi appeared on a Bachelor show was during the Women Tell All episode of Ben Higgins' season back in 2016. Before that, she was left crying on an island after Ben dumped her for Emily Ferguson during a two-on-one date. Unfortunately, Olivia was labeled as the season's "villain," even though she really didn't do anything all that villainous.
Sure, Olivia stole Ben away more than most of the other women seemed to, which isn't a crime. She boasted about how "strong" her relationship was with Ben, not realizing her perception was off. She immediately had a target on her back for nabbing the first impression rose during the premiere. She talked about her "cankles" at an inopportune moment during an (obviously) edited scene. Olivia crossed a line when she compared Amanda Stanton's life as a single mother to an episode of Teen Mom, which she sincerely apologized for soon after.
There has to be a villain in every season, but Olivia went through a lot of tough times for some petty drama that was highly manufactured and not that serious to begin with. She got a lot of camera time that season, making her seem like a shoo-in for Bachelor in Paradise. However, she never appeared in any additional Bachelor shows, which is probably a wise choice. With so many eyes on her after The Bachelor, she took opportunities to share her side of the story and show who she really is.
Olivia Caridi was in a 'really dark place' after 'The Bachelor'
In 2016, Olivia Caridi dished on being a Bachelor villain with Courtney Robertson, who had the distinction of being the villain and the winner on Ben Flajnik's season. Olivia admitted, "The hardest part was just dealing with depression in general. During and after the show, I felt like I was being wrongly judged by just about everyone, and that put me in a really dark place. But you could say the whole experience did break my heart, and I felt like I was at the lowest point in my life."
In April 2018, Olivia opened up more about that low point on her podcast Mouthing Off With Olivia Caridi. According to Refinery29, she said, "I was suicidal. I've had depression my entire life. When the show was airing, I was getting messages saying I should kill myself, and, you know, you're not worthy of living." She even reached out to the show afterwards, recalling, "I was calling The Bachelor people being like, 'You're paying for my therapy and all this stuff because this is your fault.'" Unfortunately, they didn't cover anything. Instead, the show's psychologist checked in for a bit "to make sure [she] was still alive."
Olivia "truly felt bullied," which hit very personal levels, but also impacted her professionally. Before the show, she was a news anchor, but then struggled to find work and was called a "PR nightmare" when she was rejected from a job.
Olivia Caridi changed up her career post-show
Although Olivia Caridi was very open about her career struggles after Ben Higgins' season of The Bachelor aired in 2016, she eventually hit her stride with multiple streams of income. After the show Olivia moved from Virginia to New York City, where she worked for Distractify as a writer, copywriter, and host until August 2017, according to her LinkedIn page.
Olivia started a podcast in August 2017 called Mouthing Off With Olivia Caridi, which is a nod to her time on the show, where she was the subject of countless GIFs and memes, thanks to her open-mouthed facial expressions. She also announced that she bought a house in Nashville, Tenn. in July 2017, where she continued to record her podcast in addition to taking on other side gigs, like babysitting and promoting clothing stores and makeup products on Instagram. She also started working as a ticketing agent for Delta Airlines.
In April 2018, Olivia announced that she was moving from Nashville to Seattle, Wash. Aside from a change in scenery, Olivia's move to Seattle gave her some career progression, becoming a Sky Club Ambassador for the company as well.
Olivia Caridi has a new man in her life
Even though Olivia Caridi did not end up with Ben Higgins, she did have a brief romance with Derek Peth, who originally appeared on JoJo Fletcher's Bachelorette season, which aired in 2016. Whatever happened between Olivia and Derek wasn't super public or seemingly serious, but Distractify and Elite Daily both reported that they dated before he filmed Season 4 of Bachelor in Paradise, where he got engaged to Taylor Nolan.
In February 2020, Olivia went Instagram official with a new guy, sharing, "He's the reason I've been spending a bit of time in Amsterdam, and now we're living the dream at @tswalu in the Kalahari. What is life." Her man has a private Instagram account, but his bio does list Amsterdam as his location. In March 2020, Olivia posted, "Missin you & feelin grateful for video chat right about now. All of you in long distance relationships, especially during this scary pandemic, my heart is with you. Stay strong!"
Olivia's Bachelor journey was undeservedly difficult, but she managed to work through some tough times — finding love and success on her own terms.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.