SEPT 26, 2024 | OPINION | By Rachel Weissman
*Disclaimer: this piece contains spoilers for The Bachelorette Season 21 Finale.*
As “The Golden Bachelorette,” — ABC’s newest spinoff of “The Bachelor” franchise — premiered on Wednesday, Sept. 18, I found myself uninterested. It was a shock as a self-proclaimed superfan of “The Bachelor” and its spin-offs; I look forward to tuning in on Monday nights, no matter who is leading the season. However, despite the storied history of “The Bachelor,” my heart will always be with Jenn Tran.
Tran, the first Asian-American Bachelorette, began her season in July with a slew of online hate spanning social media platforms. Tran was not one of the finalists on the most recent season with Bachelor Joey Graziadei. Consequently, we didn’t spend as much time with her as previous contestants who became the stars of their own seasons.
The hate Tran received mirrors that of her co-star Rachel Nance’s experience in Season 28 of the show. Nance, whose Filipino and Black heritage sparked racist hate across social media, was among the last three contestants of the season.
“I guess I want to remind people that we are not just faces on a screen…Just be kind, your words have weight,” Nance said on the live-aired finale.
Later in “The Bachelor” finale, when Tran was announced to be the bachelorette, the hate aimed at Nance shifted gears. Many fans complained that Tran was uninteresting, and would’ve preferred either of the two final contestants to take on the role of the bachelorette. However, I was very excited about Tran, the sweet girl next door — I didn’t need some brash, fiery lead, and I related to the quiet kindness Tran exuded. Reality TV consumers insisting the women they watch are perfectly entertaining but not remotely problematic is a reflection of their expectations of women. The hate Tran received was more than disappointing — it seems like a kind woman just isn’t enough for reality TV viewers.
Now it is time to talk about some of the contestants on Tran’s season, and there were some truly horrible ones.
In her confessionals, Tran discussed her previous attraction to emotionally unavailable men. However, the audience assumed that this was all in the past, and a mature Tran had emerged from these mistakes. However, as much as I love Tran, we were a bit too hopeful.
I won’t write too much about Sam McKinney, as he isn’t worth the word count, but Mckinney, or “Sam M.” was the epitome of a walking red flag, yet Tran couldn’t see his flaws. He was aggressive, overly confident and rude to other contestants, often picking a fight just for more screen time. It was unclear if McKinney came onto “The Bachelorette” for reality TV stardom, or if he was expecting a different leading lady, but he was not there for Tran.
I am somewhat indifferent about Jeremy Simon. Simon was the ultimate finance bro with a bit of a soft side. Funny enough, he attempted to impress Tran with his sports car during the first episode. All a bit too macho for me. He was kind to Tran on the show and slipped into the final four contestants, but his demeanor during the live-aired finale and lack of excitement about the impending engagement to Tran (if he were to win) made him forgettable. I get it, getting engaged after two months of dating is a bit absurd, but it’s the whole point of the show, so you should either lean into the chaos or go home.
Jonathan Johnson was the second runner-up, and he has my whole heart. Johnson always had a big smile on his face, and unlike other contestants, he put Tran first. He stood by her side during her debut on “Dancing With The Stars” last week, uplifting Tran with glowing words in interviews and on social media. Why Johnson came in third place, we will never know. However, from both Tran and Johnson’s social media, it seems a romantic rekindling could be on the horizon. All I know is I’m rooting for it.
Marcus Shoberg came in second place, and he was fine. I believe he is the person the producers edited to look like he would win early on in the season. With Shoberg, the audience sees Tran’s attraction to emotional unavailability.
It was fairly obvious in the last few episodes that Tran liked Shoberg more than he did her, and Tran ultimately sent him home in an anti-climatic meeting with him in the finale. It was a bit confusing; Tran was claiming she was in love with him without him reciprocating, and in the next episode, she sent him home because she was so sure of Devin Strader. Clearly, there was some manipulation going on from the editors and producers, but instead of providing shock value, the last few episodes of this season rang unclear.
Lastly and unfortunately, there is Devin Strader, the smallest man who ever lived. Despite zealous admiration for him across social media throughout Tran’s season, I never liked Strader. He was a bit too perfect, eerily fitting into the archetype that often embodies the finalist in The Bachelor Nation franchise. However, I too was fooled in the final few episodes that Tran would choose him (despite Johnson being the perfect choice) and they could be happy together. Not only was the second half of the finale a betrayal to Tran, but the audience as well.
After Tran sends Shoberg home, we know that Strader will propose to Tran, and she will accept, as he is the final contestant. However, before we see a Strader and Tran proposal, Tran walks onto the stage with host Jesse Palmer and reveals that after the show finished filming, Strader became a completely different person. He backtracked on the promises and declarations of love he made to Tran on the show, and while Tran is explaining the betrayal and ultimate split, she begins crying, grasping onto the hearts of all who have been in Tran’s position.
As Tran is recounting her heartbreak, ABC brings the heartbreaker out, Strader, and forces the two, awkwardly refusing eye contact and sitting five feet within another, to watch their proposal. It was brutal; making Tran watch the proposal live was cruel, let alone showing her distraught and crying in real time. You could truly see how much love was in Tran’s eyes as she was getting engaged, yet, while Strader puts the engagement ring on her finger, on the split screen he sits next to her looking uninterested, while his ex-fiance mourns their relationship.
As a fan, I felt betrayed that ABC would purposely put their female lead in this much pain and discomfort by making her watch her own proposal with someone she now hates on live TV. Even worse, fulfilling Bachelor Nation’s annual claim of “never been seen before,” Tran is the one to propose to Strader, and he accepts, they kiss, while Tran cries on the side-by-side display.
The network needs to do a better job protecting their leads, and ensuring that the men and women who come on the show are not just there for their five minutes of fame, but genuinely for an unconventional journey to love.
Although this accusation towards Strader is speculative, what other reason did he come on the show if not to manipulate Tran into falling in love with him, just to leave her in the dust as soon as the filming was over? This is what Tran was insinuating during her live interview in the finale, and she had every right to do so and expose the producers that recruited Strader to the show, especially after the catastrophe of Strader, Tran and the proposal just before.
I understand letting the audience watch the proposal for views and ratings, even if the relationship did ultimately end — but to make the exes sit there, watch it together, and see Strader’s indifference to it all, was extremely disrespectful to Tran. ABC should learn from the backlash they are currently receiving from forcing Tran to sit through that.
Nonetheless, Tran’s time on reality TV has not come to an end. Hopefully this round we will see a satisfying and happy end for Tran, whether it’s with love or without. Tran just began her dancing career on another ABC program, “Dancing With The Stars.” Her partner Sasha Farber has been outspoken in his admiration for Tran. They kicked off their duet career with a contemporary cha cha, to Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers,” which seems particularly appropriate. Tran’s former costar, Joey Graziadei, has also made his dance debut on season 33 of “Dancing With The Stars.” It seems ABC does not know what to do with their former reality stars except make them dance.
After all the hate Tran received beginning as the bachelorette, her finale is not what she deserved. Although many of these relationships don’t last, to be so utterly humiliated by the network was uncalled for. Although I am not much of a fan of “Dancing With The Stars,” I will be voting for Tran every week in hopes that during at least one reality TV stint, she will get the ending she deserves.