We did it, Joe. We survived Matt James' historic season of The Bachelor. And now, for better or for worse, we turn our attention towards the two new seasons of The Bachelorette. Katie Thurston and Michelle Young were named your next two Bachelorettes on Monday night's After the Final Rose special, and Matt's Bachelor contestants reacted tot he new Bachelorette news with a lot of support and love — well, for one of them.
Take a look at this season's Bachelor contestants' social media pages for reactions to the Bachelorette news and a pattern seems to emerge: they're way more excited for Michelle to be Bachelorette than Katie. I'm sorry, Katie, it's just a fact.
It's no secret that this season was one of the most toxic and petty seasons yet. Drama amongst contestants reigned supreme; controversial contestants like Anna Redman, Victoria Lawson, MJ Snyder, and Sarah Trott narrowly escaped with their reputations in tact; I barely made it out with my sanity; and Katie, it seems, left the season without many friends. There were already hints of her alienation from the rest of the group at the Women Tell All special, where Chelsea Vaughn and others confronted Katie about her decisions to go to Matt about drama in the house. But these social media posts prove that though Katie might be the next Bachelorette, she's won't be getting any roses form her fellow contestants.
Pieper
Pieper James had only one thing to say on her Instagram Stories after the Bachelorette announcements, "How could you not fall in love with Michelle?" That's it.
MJ
MJ similarly gave a shoutout to Michelle on her Instagram, leaving Katie out of the narrative completely. "Go get your mans @michelle.young.1," she wrote.
Chelsea
Chelsea celebrated the Bachelor finale with former Bachelor contestant Natasha Parker and Abigail Heringer. Together, they formed the "Michelle Young fan club" on Instagram. Katie got no such love.
Kit
One of the few congratulatory messages aimed at both women, Kit Keenan shared a video recording of the finale, writing, "congratulations to @michelle.young.1 and @ventwithkatiee so excited to watch your love stories."
Sydney
As far as I could tell, Sydney Johnson was the only Bachelor contestant from this season to only congratulate Katie on her Bachelorette title. "So happy for @ventwithkatiee," she wrote, "from night one, I knew she was one of a kind."
Ryan
Ryan Claytor gave both Katie and Michelle some love on her Instagram stories, but the difference in message was striking. "Handle your business Katie," she wrote to the new Bachelorette. To Michelle, she wrote in part, "To my roomie, my homie, the most beautiful person inside and out. I cannot wait to see you hand out these roses and find the best fit for you! You know I have your back through ALL of this! WELL DESERVED!"
Meanwhile, Jessenia Cruz, Brittany Galvin, and Catalina Morales all commented on Katie's announcement IG post, though they notably all congratulated both Bachelorettes. And Bri Springs, Khaylah Epps, Abigail, Chelsea, and Kristin Hopkins all sent Michelle well wishes in her comments. So, to be fair to Katie, there was plenty of love to go around.
In the words of Cher Horowitz, sometimes people just don't "mesh well" together. Throughout the season, it seemed like Katie was more mature than a lot of the ladies on the show, so it's possible she just didn't get along with the other women there for no reason other than they were at different places in their lives. Still, these contestant reactions coupled with Katie's chilly reception at the Women Tell All makes for a pretty medium-sized red flag, if you ask me.
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Image: ABC/Craig Sjodin