Bachelor Nation's Leaked Audition Tapes Are A Desperate Attempt To Distract From Franchise Failures & I'm Not Falling For It

Bachelor Nation is releasing the audition tapes of some beloved past contestants, but I believe that this is just a desperate attempt to distract people from the franchise's failures, and I'm not falling for it. Throughout the past few years, the Bachelor franchise has been in shambles, with more failures than successes for its contestants. Although the past three Bachelors, Zach Shallcross, Joey Graziadei, and Grant Ellis, are still engaged to Kaity Biggar, Kelsey Anderson, and Juliana Pasquarosa respectively, and The Golden Bachelorette's Joan Vassos and Chock Chapple's engagement is still going strong, I won't forget that the other franchise shows have been a disaster.

I'm still not over the many problems in the Bachelor franchise in recent years, including the breakups of every couple from Bachelor in Paradise seasons 8 and 9, The Golden Bachelor season 1 couple Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist's divorce announcement just three months after the Golden Wedding, and The Bachelorette season 21 star Jenn Tran's heart-wrenching breakup with her fiancé, Devin Strader, which happened before the finale even aired. I believe that these audition tapes are a last-ditch effort on the part of the Bachelor franchise to try to remind fans of its successes, but I can't forget its recent mistakes because they were too big and even dangerous.

Bachelor Nation Is Releasing The Audition Tapes Of Several Fan-Favorite Contestants

The Audition Tapes Are Available On The Bachelor Nation YouTube Channel

In an Instagram post, Bachelor Nation announced that, beginning on May 14, 2025, never-before-seen audition tapes from fan-favorite contestants will be shared on the Bachelor Nation YouTube channel. The video included footage from the audition tapes of Bachelor franchise darling Hannah Brown, who'll be joining the cast of Bachelor in Paradise season 10 as an advisor; Tyler Cameron, who became a fan favorite after placing second in Hannah's season; Gabby Windey, whose sarcastic personality made her a breakout star; Charity Lawson, a Bachelorette success story, who's still engaged to Dotun Olubeko; and Joey.

In addition, footage of other Bachelor Nation stars were included in the post, including Abigail Heringer, Blake Moynes, Demi Burnett, Zach, Dotun, Daisy Kent, Michelle Young, Rachel Recchia, Mike Johnson, Susie Evans, Justin Glaze, Maria Georgas, Peter Weber, Rachael Kirkconnell, Rodney Mathews, and more.

The Bachelor Season 28's Joey Graziadei's Audition Tape Was Released First

Joey Is Bachelor Nation's Golden Boy

I wasn't surprised when Joey's audition tape was the first one that was released (shared via the Bachelor Nation YouTube channel). He first stole hearts as Charity's runner-up during The Bachelorette season 20, and then he got engaged to Kelsey during The Bachelor season 28. Joey went on to win Dancing With The Stars season 33, along with his professional dance partner, Jenna Johnson, and was featured on the DWTS Live tour. Joey has been the golden boy of the franchise, and Joey and Kelsey have been one of The Bachelor's biggest success stories, but I know that that's partly because they're one of its only success stories.

Since The Bachelor premiered in 2002, out of 29 seasons, only four Bachelors are still in a relationship with their final choice, including married couple Sean Lowe and Catherine Giuidici and engaged couples Zach and Kaity, Joey and Kelsey, and Grant and Juliana. Showing Joey's audition tape might've been a ploy by the producers to make it seem like their casting was genius when they found him, but I believe that, on the whole, the show has been a terrible failure.

The Bachelor producers continue to use Joey as the face of the franchise, when the truth is that he's a rare find among the majority of the men who were cast as the Bachelor, including problematic leads such as Juan Pablo Galavis and Clayton Echard. Even the latest Bachelor, Grant, inadvertently exposed the absurdity of the show by choosing a ring for his future fiancée without knowing if he'd choose Juliana or Litia Garr.

Just because Joey was perfect in the role of the Bachelor doesn't excuse the major mistakes that have come before him, especially from previous Bachelors. While it was fun to watch his audition, I'm not going to let it dazzle me to the point that I've forgotten that the show needs a major overhaul.

The Bachelor Franchise Has Cast Many Problematic Contestants

Too Many Bachelor Franchise Contestants Have Had Restraining Orders Taken Out Against Them

The Bachelor Nation audition tapes include footage from the heroes of the Bachelor franchise, including Joey, Zach, Tyler, and Dotun. However, I wonder what the audition tapes of Devin and The Golden Bachelorette runner-up Guy Gansert and contestant Gil Ramirez's auditions looked like. I mentioned them because they were the three Bachelor franchise contestants who had women file restraining orders against them in the past.

Although the restraining orders were eventually dropped, I believe that the damage to the Bachelor franchise's reputation was almost irreparable. People join the show because they assume that the contestants have been thoroughly vetted, and I feel that it's dangerous that a restraining order could come to light after the show has already begun filming and relationships are being built. Three might not seem like a lot in the broad scheme of all of the contestants, but, with something so serious, I think that even one is too many.

I thought that it was so hypocritical that The Golden Bachelorette cut back on Gil's screen time, but, because Guy placed second, they couldn't do the same for him. It made me realize that production cares more about the ratings than the people involved. While it's fun to watch the audition tapes, they're not going to make me forget these egregious errors from production.

The Bachelor Franchise Audition Tapes Are A Distraction

Fans Shouldn't Forget That The Bachelor Franchise Needs A Refresh

I believe that the Bachelor producers are using these audition tapes as a way to distract fans by reminding them of the show's heyday. While it's exciting to look back and see the fan-favorite contestants before they rose to stardom, I think it's having the opposite effect on the show than what the producers expected. The audition tapes are reminding me that the franchise shows are well past their prime, and that they desperately need a refresh. I'm not falling for this manipulation, and I hope that others don't either. The Bachelor franchise has to change, and I hope that these audition tapes aren't its latest distraction.