The Bachelor Season 29: Is Grant Ellis Struggling As The Lead Because He's Too Romantic To Make Smart Decisions On The Show? (His Drama With Rose & Carolina Tells A Story)

Grant Ellis has made history as the second Black lead of The Bachelor, but his time as The Bachelor has been marked by drama from a few of the women vying for his love. Grant first graced our screens as one of the men trying to win Jenn Tran's heart on The Bachelorette season 21. While he was eliminated before getting to the end of the season, he made an impression on fans and producers alike, and was announced as the new Bachelor late last year.

However, his The Bachelor season has been somewhat clunky, with the drama from the women taking up more of the storyline than the actual romances. Perhaps the problem is that Grant's too chill for the job, since he hasn't taken a firm stance on any of the women. Maybe he's trying to be a gentleman. Grant's easy-going nature may be the reason why he seems a bit too soft. For Grant to be successful, he's going to need to express himself more, rather than letting the women's drama overshadow the point of the show: to find true love.

Grant Couldn't Seem To Stop Thinking About Rose

Rose Eliminated Herself During Episode 4

From the jump, Grant shared a spark with The Bachelor's Rose Sombke. However, drama ensued after Rose told The Bachelor's Carolina Sofia Quixano that Grant claimed he was thinking about Rose while dancing with Carolina during a date. Carolina then talked about that with Grant. Grant confronted Rose and blamed it on miscommunication. However, he still seemed to be smitten with Rose, refusing to take a strong stand with regard to the drama. He didn't want to hurt any of the women's feelings.

The fracas led to Rose ultimately choosing to leave the show, claiming that Carolina's action (telling Grant) was a betrayal. Grant's refusal to accept accountability for the drama ultimately led to him losing his chance with Rose forever. In the episode's rose ceremony, Grant admitted to being hurt by Rose's departure, although he said he understood her reasoning.

Leads on romance reality shows can sometimes get in trouble because they aren't sure whether to listen to their hearts or their heads. In Grant's case, he seems to be dealing with this type of internal conflict. For what it's worth, former Bachelor star Joe Amabile told Us Weekly that after the Rose and Carolina drama, Grant needs to start trusting his heart, rather than worrying about hurting the other women. Joe said:

"I'm such a romantic. I believe you should actually trust your heart because if your heart's not in it, then it's not gonna work anyways — even if the logistics make sense."

Grant Ellis Got Cozy With Carolina

Carolina Has Made Her Intentions Clear This Season

With only four episodes having aired, Carolina has certainly made an impact. She's a spitfire and doesn't hesitate to show Grant how she feels about him, which has rubbed some of the other women the wrong way. However, the early stages of The Bachelor are about standing out, which Carolina clearly understands. She puts herself out there, and that strategy is working: She and Grant have chemistry, and she might be a front-runner for the final rose.

 

Now that Rose has left the show because Grant allowed Carolina to meddle, he is free to focus on Carolina, but he might eventually resent her because he lost Rose. If Grant was really into Rose, but didn't want to offend her during her drama with Carolina, it may have appeared to Rose that Grant wasn't sticking up for her. If Rose believed he wasn't really interested in her, and that made her leave the show early, Grant's inability to decisively express his opinions may have cost him a happy ending with Rose.

He's Afraid Of "Making Bad Decisions"

Grant Needs To Be More Assertive

Grant's waffling might end up costing him his chance at love. It's already cost him Rose. Before this season of The Bachelor premiered, he told People that he didn't want to make "bad decisions" during his time on the show, specifically when it came to the Fantasy Suites.

"My take on Fantasy Suites was to take things slow and not rush, because I think a lot of times when you initiate the physical part, it could cause you to make really bad decisions. So my approach to that [was] to wait, and to see what my connections were like before I engage in anything that would be considered physical, and that really helped me to make good decisions at that point."

It's sweet that The Bachelor's Grant doesn't want to hurt anyone or make poor decisions, but it's time for him to be more assertive. He's already told most of the contestants that he could see himself marrying them, which is nice, but counter-productive to the point of the show. He didn't want to hurt Carolina or Rose's feelings after their drama, and in the end, Rose needed him to tell her how he felt, flat out, instead of toeing the line. Because he couldn't, Rose chose herself, rather than waiting for him to choose her.

The Bachelor airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.