Why This Season of The Bachelor is a Flop
Everything you need to know about the extremely controversial journey…
by ALI ROSENBERG ★ MARCH 28, 2023
I’m not going to lie, I did have high hopes when Zach Shallcross was announced to be the next Bachelor. Zach was previously a contestant on Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey’s season of The Bachelorette, and ultimately pursued Rachel ending in 4th place. Zach was sent home following the ‘fantasy suite’ date as the couple realized they were not compatible off-camera.
26-year-old Zach Shallcross’ journey began on January 23rd and has been a whirlwind ever since, to say the least. Prior to Zach’s season, fans had been slightly disappointed with the Bachelor Franchise's decision to place him as the lead of the following season as they claimed that he is ‘vanilla’ and ‘boring’.
This season of The Bachelor started off strong with 32 women vying for Zach’s heart and of course, hand in marriage. Everything was going great until week 5, when host, Jesse Palmer, shared with the remaining contestants that Zach had tested positive for COVID-19.
Following this announcement to the women, producers were determined to continue interactions between Zach and the women which are when they decided they would provide each woman with a virtual date with Zach. This is when everything started going downhill.
During one of the dates, contestant, Greer Blitzer (recipient of the First Impression Rose), tried to relate to Zach by sharing with him that she works in sales and had tested positive for COVID-19 right before the end of the sales quarter and continued by sharing that she knows what it’s like “to have a goal” that you are trying to reach and feeling “stuck”. Immediately after sharing this, Zach snapped back and shared that he doesn’t find these two situations comparable as finishing a sales quarter does not hold the same gravity as finding a wife. Fans were outraged, to put it lightly, as women in the business industry are not normalized, and frankly frowned upon.
Following this interaction with Greer, it seemed that Zach would send any woman home who shared their genuine feelings with him. Contestant, Jessica Girod shared her concerns about not yet receiving a one-on-one date during Week 7, Zach immediately sent her home.
Leading up to the finale, there was fantasy suite week in which Zach had promised himself and the remaining three women that he would not engage in intimacy. Through his second overnight date he had gone back on his word and had changed the trajectory of how he had told the women that the week was going to play out by becoming intimate with contestant, Gabi Elnicki. Talk about a walking red flag.
Going into the finale, I think we all knew that Zach was going to end up choosing Kaity Biggar. His decision came as no surprise yet Gabi and Zach’s breakup was one of the most devastating things to watch in Bachelor History. At After the Final Rose, Gabi was brought out on stage and shared that she was not aware that Zach would be sharing the details of their fantasy suite on national television and she shared that it wasn’t his place to do so.
This season of The Bachelor was undoubtedly messy. It really puts into question whether the whole franchise is moving forward with society or if they are pushing preconceived notions that society is attempting to eliminate. The future of the Bachelor Franchise is extremely questionable, but that doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining!
Cover Photo Credit: Good Morning America