Grant seems to have the best intentions. In his The Bachelorette exit video, he claimed he wanted a family and to be in love. While Grant will make a fantastic lead for The Bachelor season 29, some worry the franchise may be the wrong place for a wholesome man to find love. The shows have been plagued with drama, and few Bachelor couples survive the mounting pressure of public relationships. Ill-intentioned suitors make the search impossible. The following contestants and leads have proven that the franchise prioritizes ratings over love.
Gerry Turner Lied About His Past
Gerry Was Enabled By Producers
According to the star, he had lost his ex-wife, Toni Turner, after 43 years together. He claimed he could not bring himself to pursue other women. The Hollywood Reporter later examined this harrowing backstory. Gerry lied about his:
- successful career
- subsequent retirement
- romantic endeavors.
The franchise was not only aware of his past but likely encouraged the deception to boost ratings.
While he could easily be to blame for this deception, the franchise enabled Gerry's lies. In an interview on Justin Long’s Life Is Short podcast, Gerry described the intense background screening before his involvement on the show. The thorough vetting would have caught any inconsistencies. His LinkedIn for instance, is just a Google search away. The franchise was not only aware of his past but likely encouraged the deception in order to boost ratings.
Guy Gansert Has A Restraining Order
Guy's Past Was Intentionally Concealed
Joan’s season of The Golden Bachelorette featured some questionable characters. Guy Gansert, the runner-up of her season, appeared rather flawless. He was calm, collected, and romantic—what more could a woman ask for? Like Gerry, Guy had a questionable past that he opted not to disclose.
Guy had been very vocal throughout the season about his divorce from his ex-wife, Heidi Seevers O'Gara. Despite this apparent openness, Guy had never mentioned the restraining order that she had requested. According to Heidi, Guy was in a volatile period of his life. She believed this correlated with his sleeping medication. His “extremely unstable” behavior prompted her to file for this legal order.
Several incidents made her concerned for her safety. She maintained Guy was sending "stacks of text messages” and threatening her life. In one particularly upsetting event, Heidi claims Guy had placed something behind her driver’s side tire. Guy held up two fingers when she confronted him, motioning as if firing a gun. Eventually, she took legal precautions (via The Sun).
Notably, Heidi voluntarily withdrew her application three weeks later. Guy understandably wanted to keep this situation private but chose to participate in a publicly scrutinized show. He should have addressed the topic head-on if he wanted to avoid rumors. Instead, he concealed his past, leading some to believe Guy was aggressive and dishonest. The franchise was undoubtedly aware of this fact as well. It was not concerning enough for the producers to reconsider Guy's involvement.
Jenn Tran Was Heartbroken
Jenn Was Manipulated On Screen
The franchise attracted backlash for pushing Jenn to confront Devin on screen.
The day after cutting her off, Devin followed another contestant, Maria Georgas, on social media. Maria, who was on Joey’s season of The Bachelor, stated she was unaware of the follow and had never met Devin. Jenn spoke openly about the situation on the podcast Off the Vine. In this conversation, she mentioned several people reaching out and sharing more evidence of his disloyalty. To dispel rumors, Devin shared screenshots of private and intimate conversations with Jenn. This invasion of privacy only devastated her further. The franchise attracted backlash for pushing Jenn to confront Devin on screen.