Dating show The Bachelor has become a pop-culture touchstone since its first airing in 2002. Now in its 27th season and after over 200 episodes, seemingly each one featuring moments dubbed “the most dramatic” in franchise history, the show has featured a number of contestants competing for the star’s affection, with jet-setting dates setting the stage for whirlwind romances. The show has spawned a number of spinoffs, including The Bachelorette, and many contestants have appeared on the show in the hopes of finding true love. A few have succeeded, and more have called it quits not long after awarding the final rose.
No matter the outcome, fans of the franchise — Bachelor Nation — are often full of opinions about contestants, particularly when it comes to who deserves the final rose. There’s no better place to turn to for Bachelor and Bachelorette hot takes than Reddit. Some winners were disliked throughout the season and were even the villains of their seasons, while others didn’t seem like the right match for their suitor.
10 Vanessa Grimaldi
Vanessa Grimaldi appeared in Season 21 of The Bachelor, vying for Nick Viall’s affections. Vanessa accepted Nick’s proposal in the finale, but the two called off their engagement that summer. Despite their breakup, they seem to be on good terms today, and Vanessa has since married and welcomed a baby boy.
A few Reddit users consider the couple among the franchise’s worst pairings. One user dislikes Vanessa “because she was the only final one who never really opened up or loved the bachelor.” At the same time, Nick is criticized for coming off as arrogant.
9 Susie Evans
Susie Evans competed in Season 26 of The Bachelor for the heart of Clayton Echard. Although she initially turned down his proposal in the finale, the two were back together for the After the Final Rose special. They ultimately broke up for good in September 2022.
Multiple Reddit users suspected Susie had her eyes on being selected as the next Bachelorette. One criticized her for wanting it both ways, saying she was “playing the role of aggressor (initiated the conflict) and victim simultaneously.”
8 Jef Holm
In 2012, Season 8 of The Bachelorette featured a group of men competing for Emily Maynard, among them Jef Holm. Emily ultimately chose Jef, and the two got engaged, only to call it off that fall.
Jef’s name comes up frequently in threads discussing users’ least-favorite contestants. Some users understood why Jef was picked, even if they didn’t like him, while others were confused by the couple, with one writing, “Literally everything about that pairing made zero sense, I can’t.”
7 Vienna Girardi
Vienna Girardi was a contestant in Season 14 of The Bachelor, in which she was disliked by the other women in the house and was considered the villain. In the end, she got engaged to Bachelor Jake Pavelka, who first appeared in Season 5 of The Bachelorette, but it didn’t last. Vienna has since gotten engaged to racecar driver Todd Allen and has become a mother.
Vienna was disliked by the other women competing for Jake. Similar to Nick, fans dislike both Jake and Vienna, with many on Reddit expressing confusion over her receiving the final rose. Some Reddit users felt she was annoying, with one writing, “I think most of the women just felt like she was a spoiled, immature brat based off of the stories she kept telling them,” and another called the couple “toxic.”
6 Garrett Yrigoyen
In The Bachelorette Season 14, Garrett Yrigoyen won over Becca Kufrin, with the season ending with the two getting engaged. But in the fall of 2020, they went their separate ways after two years together. Garrett is now engaged.
Early in the season, some of Garrett’s Instagram activity was revealed, including that he had liked several hateful posts. Reddit users and other members of the Bachelor cast have been critical of both the behavior and Garrett’s response to it coming to light. One user described him as racist and sexist, while others noted his opinions go against Becca’s beliefs and that during her season, she had “significantly better options.” Becca and Garrett’s differing views are thought to be a factor in their breakup.
5 Rachael Kirkconnell
Rachael Kirkconnell appeared in Season 25 of The Bachelor, which featured Matt James, the franchise’s first black male lead. Matt awarded Rachael the final rose, although he did not propose. As the season was airing, Rachael was scrutinized for racist behavior, first after a TikTok user accused her of racism in high school and then again after pictures surfaced of her attending a plantation-themed event in college. She also liked racist social media posts. The couple briefly split as a result, then reunited, and have been together ever since.
Reddit users have called her out for her past actions, calling her “ignorant and racist.” She apologized, but fans remain split on their opinion of her, with some having accepted her apology while others are skeptical of her sincerity.
4 Courtney Robertson
Courtney Robertson competed in Season 16 of The Bachelor, where she was the season’s villain and got engaged to suitor Ben Flajnik. She wrote a book about her experience on the show, the aptly titled I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends: Confessions of a Reality Show Villain. She also has since gotten married and become a mother.
One Reddit user called Courtney “the GOAT villain” of the franchise. Fans love to hate her, with some admitting she was entertaining to watch without ignoring the fact that she could have a mean streak.
3 Josh Murray
Josh Murray competed in Season 19 of The Bachelorette for Andi Dorfman, which ended in the two getting engaged. It didn’t last, though, and Josh later got engaged to Amanda Stanton on spinoff Bachelor in Paradise, but that relationship wasn’t meant to be, either, and ended a year later.
Reddit users have no love lost for either Josh or Andi, but Josh, in particular, is discussed frequently regarding the worst finalists, even though some understand why he was the winner. Users consider him and Andi to be a bad match overall, with one calling Josh “abusive.”
2 Jed Wyatt
Season 15 of The Bachelorette ended with Hannah Brown choosing Jed Wyatt as the winner, despite his admission that he hoped to boost his career as a musician. Hannah ended their engagement after learning Jed was in a relationship when the season began filming. Both have since moved on to other relationships.
While Hannah quickly forgives Jed’s desire to help his career, Reddit users were not, but that’s not the only reason they dislike him. Many users cited multiple red flags throughout the season, and one called him “the red flag incarnate.”
1 Mary Delgado
Mary Delgado appeared as a contestant twice on The Bachelor, first in Season 4 and then again in Season 6. The second time, she won the heart of Bachelor Byron Velvick, who proposed to her, and the couple stayed together for five years.
Following the show, Delgado was arrested three times between 2006 and 2010, including a 2007 arrest for battery after she punched Byron in the mouth. Reddit doesn’t have much to say about her — probably because she appeared very early in the franchise — but some users have pointed out her troublesome history and cited her among the worst winners for that reason.
