The Bachelorette season 21 villain Devin Starter couldn’t have completed his villainous arc by dumping Jenn Tran over the phone without the indirect aid of the producers. After the success story of Charity Lawson and Dotun Olubeko in The Bachelorette season 20, there was hope for the first Asian-American Bachelorette lead, Jenn Tran, who made her debut on the show, hoping to find someone she could 'have fun with' and feel like they are 'each other's person.' However, after the grand arrivals, it quickly became evident how tough Jenn’s task would be with the men on the show
Jenn had to navigate weeks of drama between the men, which included bullying cases and a one-on-one confrontation that turned physical. Nonetheless, going into the final week, Jenn had to choose between Marcus Shoberg, whom she felt she could heal and grow up with, and Devin Strader, who Jenn described their connection as being "unwaveringly there for each other.” Still, Jenn ended up choosing Devin, and they got engaged in the finale. However, just two months later, Devin became the ultimate villain, dumping Jenn over the phone, claiming he no longer loved her and he regretted getting engaged.
Jenn Tran Faced The Difficult Task Of Picking Between Villains
Jenn Was Looking for a Needle in a Haystack
The Bachelorette season 21 will probably go down as the most dramatic season yet, but not one Jenn will remember fondly after she was dumped over the phone two months after she went down on one knee to propose to Devin. Maybe Jenn should have heeded the warning signs when Devin stole her away from the other contestants, which led to multiple feuds and screaming matches. But at the time, it felt like Devin was just being romantic and one of the few guys who actually had their eyes on Jenn and was intentional about winning her heart.
Unlike previous seasons, where contestants tried to outdo one another on what they could offer the lead, season 21 was more about the drama the cast could generate and less about Jenn.
From Aaron Erb, who self-eliminated to focus on his fighter pilot training but not before he created mischief by creating doubts in Jenn’s mind about the other contestants, to Thomas Nguyen, who was more interested in creating conflicts and spending too much time focusing on other contestants rather than Jenn. There was also Sam McKinney (Sam M), who not only bullied his fellow contestants but claimed he was on the show to meet another woman from the franchise. This level of drama prevented Jen from figuring out who the greatest villain was until it was two months too late.
Devin Strader’s Deception Cost Jen an Alternative Romance
Devin Held Jenn Back From Her Other Options
The Bachelorette season 21 live finale featured Jenn and Devin discussing exactly what went wrong in their relationship. Although Devin started well, praising Jenn for how she went from "this beautiful girl into this amazing woman on her own," he then revealed he had suppressed a lot of doubts he had about their relationship, none of which he once voiced to Jenn. Jenn, as expected, asked why Devin would keep this from her for two months, during which she continued fighting for "a love that was out the door half the time.”
Despite Devin’s claims of regretting his decision not to tell Jenn about his doubts, one could argue that Devin knew exactly what he was doing the whole time, and his intention was never to get engaged. Sam M had accused Devin of being “two-faced” and “being on the show for the wrong reasons, which eventually proved to be true, especially when, following their breakup, he followed Maria Georgas on Instagram, the woman who originally turned down the opportunity to be The Bachelorette. If Devin had revealed his doubts, Jen probably would’ve gone with any of the other finalists.
Producers Failed Jen and The Bachelorette Again
Producers Were More About Drama Not Jenn’s Happiness
Like most of The Bachelorette seasons, season 21 ended with another breakup mere months after the engagement. Since the show’s debut in 2003, only three couples have gotten married, with Charity and Dotun hoping to add their names to that list with plans to get married in 2025 or 2026. However, unlike most of the previous 20 seasons of The Bachelorette, producers seemed to have failed season 21 lead Jenn with the caliber of men featured on this season of the show.
Unlike previous seasons, where contestants tried to outdo one another on what they could offer the lead, season 21 was more about the drama the cast could generate and less about Jenn for the most part. Still, many of the contestants could be forgiven for their behavior, especially after most who were cast before The Bachelorette was announced admitted they initially assumed Maria would be the lead in this season (via Yahoo!). Producers of The Bachelorette got another season wrong again, especially with the casting, subjecting Jenn to another toxic relationship after her previous experience.
