The only thing I enjoy more than watching true love unfold on the Bachelor franchise is watching true mess unfold on the Bachelor franchise. Let’s face it, we can probably count the number of successful relationships on one hand (maaaaybe two), but we can count the messiest members of Bachelor nation on my hands, your hands, and your best friend’s hands. This show is the mess that keeps on giving!
But not all messes are created equal. Let’s look back at the messiest Bachelors, Bachelorettes, and contestants in recent Bachelor, Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise history.
11. Blake Horstmann - Bachelor in Paradise Season 6
Stagecoach, stagecoach, stagecoach.
Blake was caught in a sticky situation when he was confronted by Kristina Schulman and Caelynn Miller-Keyes about hooking up with the both of them, back to back, at the music festival Stagecoach.
It would only make sense for this mess to proceed on Instagram, when Blake decided to release text messages between him and Caelynn to prove his innocence. From the screenshots, it appeared that Caelynn was the one pursuing him.
Talk about a music festival I now never want to attend.
10. Victoria Larson - Bachelor Season 25
Victoria was so messy I actually thought she was a producer plant; a hired actress. I thought there was no way someone is that nuts all on their own. Victoria lived in her own world where she was the queen and the rest of the women in the house were peasants. From the way she viciously attacked Marylynn Sienna, calling her “psychologically disturbed,” to bullying Sarah Trott off of the show, every episode had something else from. And most times, it got worse. So messy.
And her bra was literally always sticking out on national television. There is no greater offense.
9. Brendan Morais - Bachelor in Paradise Season 7
I never got good vibes from Brendan. He left Tayshia Adams' season because he “wasn’t ready” for the commitment and then showed up on Bachelor in Paradise the very next season. Something tells me he just “wasn’t ready” because he just didn’t really like Tayshia.
This next dumpster fire lives fresh in our brains: he led our baby angel, Natasha, on for weeks just to dump her as soon as his “not official” girlfriend got there. Even if they weren’t “officially official,” they were spending money on flights to see each other, so, sounds pretty official to me. And then for Brendan to call Natasha annoying after confronting him on his lies... You know what’s annoying, Brendan? Lying! And then being a dick about it. Mess.
8. Katie Thurston - Bachelorette Season 17
She did coin the phrase, “12 Days of Messy,” after all. And no one knew how messy this would get until day 12, when Katie broke the internet to announce she was dating her “best friend” John Hersey. John, the guy she sent home week two of her season and who she has been hanging out with pretty much constantly since she moved to San Diego. And if matching all of your exes with Taylor Swift songs isn’t messy enough, let’s not forget she was engaged to her season's winner, Blake Moynes, four weeks prior to this big love fest with John.
Not only was the announcement shocking, but in Katie’s public declaration of love to John, she used a video of him flying a plane. The kicker? According to Bachelor Nation Scoop on Instagram, Blake was with Katie and John on the plane on the day that video was filmed! The mess!
7. Chad Johnson - Bachelorette Season 12, Bachelor in Paradise Season 3
“Don’t poke the Chad bear.”
Chad Johnson acted like a psychopath. He was constantly in everyone's face. He even picked a fight with Evan Bass, arguably the smallest and nicest person there. One of Chad’s arms was the size of Evan’s whole body.
And then on Bachelor in Paradise, he was asked to leave the beach due to his drunken bad behavior. While in a verbal spat with Chris Harrison, he argued the former host never even watched the show and shouldn’t be forcing him to leave.
He told Chris, “You went to sleep last night with a mimosa and a robe on.”
Sounds nice, to be honest.
6. Corinne Olympios - Bachelor Season 21
Was Corinne messy or was she a genius? One of the greatest Bachelor villains of all time. From flashing her boobs on a group date to sneaking over to Nick’s room to try to seduce him to taking naps in the middle of rose ceremonies... a messy queen. I miss her. Can she be the new host?
5. Juan Pablo Galavis - Bachelor Season 18
Juan Pablo is one of the most hated Bachelors in franchise history. For being the Bachelor, Juan Pablo didn’t do a great job of communicating his feelings. He told Andi Dorfmann she made it to the top three “out of default.” He then goes on to not propose to Nikki Ferrell, but assures her, “I like you a lot,” with a good ol’ fashion wink. What girl doesn’t want a wink instead of a proposal!?
Even months later, at ATFR, Juan Pablo refuses to ever come out and say that he loves Nikki. The two ended up on VH1’s Couples Therapy and later called it quits. Mess mess mess.
4. Jed Wyatt - Bachelorette Season 15
Jed got fully engaged to Hannah Brown on Season 15 of The Bachelorette. The musician from Nashville wrote her a love song and everything. There was only one catch: Jed allegedly had a girlfriend back home the whole time! How did he think that was going to turn out for him? Jed maintains that he was never “official” with said woman from Nashville, Hailey Stevens.
Stevens maintains that she and Jed were together, that he only wanted to go on the show to promote his music career, and that they would “be stronger on the other side because of it.” Mess with a capital M.
3. Clare Crawley - Bachelorette Season 16
God bless Clare. While I never liked that the show labeled her the “oldest Bachelorette,” it surely was more accurate than calling her the most mature. Clare blew up her season by leaving engaged to Dale Moss, nine days in. She didn’t even bother to learn any of the other guys' names. You can’t say Clare didn’t follow her heart, she just didn’t use her heart and her head at the same time. Clare and Dale have been on again off again so many times that I can’t remember if they are currently together or not.
Oh! I remember now. They definitely are not together. Because after the show aired, Clare was messy boots back on the ground. After a Deuxmoi post came out about a recent “Bachelor winner” (presumably Dale) hooking up with a “BIP fan favorite” (presumably Abigail Heringer), Clare posted a picture holding her mother’s hand, who was in ICU. Part of the caption read:
“I am just thankful for the people in my life who offer genuine unconditional love with no personal gain, and stand by me through thick and thin. ESPECIALLY WHEN THE CAMERAS ARE OFF with no accolades. actions speak for themselves.”
She tagged Abigail. In a picture of her mother in the ICU. I cannot. Mess.
2. Nick Viall - Bachelorette Season 18
Nick seems to put his foot in his mouth a lot. It’s funny because now it’s one reason why people like him so much, but on Andi Dorfmann’s season, it was a whole different story. Nick was in the final two of Andi’s season, which means, fantasy suites. After being rejected in the end, he went on After the Final Rose to confront her about their experiences behind closed doors. Something Andi was not happy about.
Nick said, “If you weren’t in love with me, I’m just not sure why, like why you made love with me.” Andi quickly said that was inappropriate and should be kept private. To which he responded, the fantasy suite was “fiance type stuff.”
He never found lasting love on The Bachelor franchise. I wonder why.
1. Peter Weber - Bachelor Season 24
Does this one really need any explanation? Peter was hands down the messiest Bachelor of all time. Whether it was him almost blowing up his own season because he wasn’t over Hannah Brown, or letting his mother berate his girlfriend on national television, Peter was in way over his head. And things only continue to get messier for Peter as time goes on. Between his relationships with Hannah Ann, Hannah Brown, Madison Prewett, Kelley Flanagan... take your pick of the mess.
Honorable mention to messy mama, Barb. The apple truly does not fall far.
Images: ABC screenshots