The Bachelor Season 29: Grant Ellis Should Have Never Been Cast (His Drama With Love Interests Is A Major Red Flag)

   

Grant Ellis may not have been the best choice to be lead on this season of The Bachelor, as some of his actions are proving to have disastrous results on the reality dating show. Grant, a 31-year-old former basketball player who now works in finance, first appeared in the Bachelor franchise universe while competing for Jenn Tran's heart on The Bachelorette season 21. He was then chosen to be the new lead on The Bachelor season 29, becoming the franchise's second Black Bachelor.

But his time as the lead has been criticized due to his indecisiveness amongst the women. While the show is now down to four—Litia Garr, Juliana Pasquarosa, Dina Lupancu, and Zoe McGrady—Grant has let drama among the women overshadow the romance. He's often found himself having to confront women on behalf of others, or step in to handle drama happening behind-the-scenes. This has made the other women feel awkward at times, and has resulted in heightened tensions during group dates and other activities.

Grant Told A Few Of The Women He’s Falling For Them

Grant Saw Himself With Natalie, Carolina, Dina, Etc.

From his waffling with his emotions, his refusal to take accountability for certain situations, his allowing drama to ruin the experience for others, and Grant's desire to make his music career happen, Grant should never have been cast as the lead this season. Rather than being the babysitter and running interference for contestants, Grant should have let his connections with the women become the focal point of the show. He says he wants to settle down and find a partner, but Grant's actions haven't exactly lined up.

In The Bachelor, forming connections with multiple women at the same time is the name of the game. Still, it's been misleading that Grant told so many women he was falling for them and could see them as his future wife. He had virtually the same conversation with women like Carolina, Natalie, Dina, Juliana, Sarafeina, and more, which comes across as disingenuous.

As the competition whittles down, he will clearly feel a stronger connection to some women over others, but he rarely acknowledges that, instead letting all the women believe they have a chance until they are sent home. It was shocking to see him send Carolina Quixano home, because all season, he's been acting like she's at the forefront. It's disappointing for the women and for the audience.

Grant should be more decisive and less concerned about hurting feelings. The women know what they've signed up for by appearing on the show, so while jealousy and cattiness can sometimes happen, Grant needs to keep the focus on the connections. He also needs to stop worrying about his image and coming across as a "player." By playing favorites, or refusing to be honest in order to placate, he's doing everyone a disservice.

 

Grant Let Too Many Antics Distract From The Show

Grant Allowed The Women To Steal Him At Inopportune Times

Savannah Quinn holding a wedding cake on The Bachelor
ABC

One of the hallmarks of Bachelor Nation shows is the fact that contestants can "steal" the lead away at any time, and it's resulted in some truly hilarious moments, like when Savannah Quinn tried to steal Grant away by bringing him a wedding cake decorated with their miniature images, but she walked in on him making out with Zoe. It was just the right amount of cringe that's come to be expected from these shows, but it definitely took away from the romantic moment Grant was having with Zoe.

Zoe then caused some drama herself by stealing Grant during a group basketball challenge, whisking him away to a rooftop while the other women awkwardly waited for him to return to the court. Zoe continued stealing Grant during his time with Alli Jo and Juliana throughout the episode. Grant could have put a stop to this and simply told Zoe no, but he didn't. He always let Zoe's interruptions ruin his moments with the other women, which put a damper on the show.

 

Grant Fumbled Rose In Order To Please Carolina

Grant Allowed Carolina's Meddling To Cause Rose To Leave

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

While Grant's been open about his motivation for joining The Bachelor season 29—to find a wife and start a family—he's also allowed certain contestants, like Carolina, to meddle in matters with the other women. Carolina had a way of making everything all about her, and Grant allowed it all to go down, much to the disappointment of the remaining women. Grant seemingly played favorites with Carolina, and in the end, he sent her home, which means none of her drama was worth it.

Rose Sombke found herself embroiled in Carolina's drama, and took herself out of the competition as a result. Rose felt that Grant didn't defend her in the conflict, which revolved around Grant telling Rose that while he danced with Carolina, he was thinking about Rose. While Rose may have misconstrued Grant's sentiments, he did say those words, and he refused to be accountable for them when confronted.

"I'm very interested in you. Like even today, right, you know, the whole dancing thing on stage and everything, I was thinking about you. I don't want you to feel like I wasn't paying attention, because I am."

Instead, Grant went on and on about how this was hurting his image. Grant proved that he cares more about what people think of him than finding his soulmate. And he lost a good one—Rose—in the process.

 

Grant Might Be More Interested In A Music Career Than A Wife

Grant Has Tried To Make His Music Happen A Few Times

Grant has been open about the fact that he didn't even want to do reality dating initially. His mother apparently signed him up for Jenn Tran's season of The Bachelorette. Perhaps after getting a taste of fame, Grant decided to be on The Bachelor as a way to further his 15 minutes of fame, and even promote his music career. How many dates and challenges have we had to sit through that involve Grant and his "musicality"?

Grant also dropped a single, "Party Girl," just before the premiere of The Bachelor, which is awfully suspicious. A fan on TikTok who goes by jjranlolz posted a video claiming that his song makes her not want to watch the season anymore. The post was flooded with comments like:

"I'm starting to think he's not here for the right reason"

"i’m getting too much second hand embarrassment from this season"

"he just out here tryna get signed by a record label"

If Grant truly cares about finding his wife on The Bachelor, he needs to focus on the goal. He already eliminated Carolina, who was letting her drama overshadow his experiences with the other women, but he still needs to set the tone moving forward. It's getting down to the wire and with fewer and fewer women in the running, it's a good time for Grant to get his head in the game.