Is 'The Bachelor' franchise responsible for failed relationships? Katie Thurston slams ABC for Jenn Tran's season
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Are we watching reality TV for the right reasons? After the most recent disappointment for a lead on 'The Bachelorette’, the well-liked women-led offshoot of ABC's 'The Bachelor' series, that's what Bachelor Nation star Katie Thurston is asking.
This is a well-known scene: the lead star embarks on a season-long quest to fall in love with a male suitor who is purportedly there for "the right reasons," but it ends disastrously. As fans saw Jenn Tran relive her final pick Devin Strader who dumped her, she broke down in front of the studio audience while sitting on the seasonal "After the Final Rose” stage with host Jesse Palmer.
As the season aired last month, he called her for fifteen minutes and called off their engagement. For the first Asian American lead figure in the franchise and the first woman to pop the question to her last guy standing, it was a difficult end to a fairytale season.
So why do we keep failing them on reality television? 'The Bachelorette' alum Katie is now asking the tough questions for us, despite not having completely streamed the most recent season.
Katie was invited to express her thoughts on the newest train disaster of a season during a recent Q&A with her Instagram family after having gone through it herself. She wasn't in the trenches as a viewer, but she was a former Bachelorette, so she gets a pass!
She wrote in reply to her Stories, "I didn't watch but I heard a lot. Whether Jenn agreed or not, mistakes were made not only at the finale, but throughout her entire season.
It's interesting how there isn't a statement from the EP's or the franchise issuing an apology or how they intend to do better going forward. They are getting major press and not in a good way."
'The Bachelorette' alum Katie Thurston accuses ABC of hiding behind Bachelor Nation stars
Katie in her rant, continued, "The silence is loud. Time to take responsibility and stop hiding behind your talent to save face. Mistakes happen. Mistakes were made. Own up to them. Your silence is loud."
Katie could just be expressing what she has heard, but it is critical to any future improvements. When previous leads speak out about it or have severe relations with the series, it should make a difference. Will it?
We believe the producers (from top to bottom) are so anti-human, even toward the viewers, that they will simply double down.
'The Bachelorette' Jenn Tran forced to relieve humiliating engagement post-split from Devin Strader
Like Jenn, you feel like everything is both permanent and transient when you're twenty-six. You get the impression that you are both eternally young and that time is running out—especially, for some, in terms of finding love.
Your heart breaks. By someone you believed would be in your life forever, by a partner, or by those in positions of authority over you.
We've all been in these situations before. However, a lot of us are spared from having to confront the other person in front of everyone.
We save our tears for intimate times with one another, not for the millions of others watching from the comfort of their sofas.
But, that's the nature of their job. At what point does it get too real?
And why is 'The Bachelorette' keeping these exclusive to the female leads? Social media users attacked the producers after the season finale, subjecting Jenn to suffering in front of the public.
Even 'The Bachelor's' Season 20 star, Ben Higgins, expressed disapproval of the producers for making Jenn suffer anguish.
"Jenn should have gotten up in the middle of proposal showers and gave everyone the peace sign," he noted. "Walk out of that studio and never turned back. Absolutely cruel and unnecessary to make her watch that back. Cannot believe it."
Why did 'The Bachelorette' Jenn Tran and Devin Strader split?
Devin explained why he decided to end his relationship with Jenn on the 'The Bachelorette' reunion, claiming that he felt he was "falling short of those expectations" the couple had for one another in the real world away from the cameras. "I found myself not being able to live up to the things that you need and you deserve," he revealed.
"I watched myself contribute to your regression, and that hurt me. You don't deserve to compromise your standards to be happy."
In addition, he said that he "had a lot of doubts and regretfully and sadly I suppressed those feelings, and I did come clean to you about that" after the pair departed the show. His answer was rejected by Jenn, who said that he "hid all of this from me."
"For two months, I was pouring everything into you," she added, "while you hid all of these feelings of doubt and made me feel even more in love with you and try to fight for a relationship that was out the door half the time."
