Relinquishing her Bachelor Nation crown? After Victoria Larson appeared on both The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise, she gained notoriety as a villain who likened herself to a “queen,” and later, a “goddess.” Now, she’s opening up about what filming was like.
“Doing the show was probably the worst experience of my life and I hate the producers truly,” the ABC personality, 29, captioned a Tuesday, April 5, Instagram Story post after a fan asked about her experience on the show.
She added: “However, I try and look with greater perspective. There are way more significant issues in the world and mine are minuscule in comparison. Focus on my blessings always. … One of my favorite things is when people recognize me and are purposefully rude to me [because] they think I’m an awful person. It’s almost as great as the online trolls.”
Victoria first competed on season 25 of The Bachelor, which was led by Matt James. The Florida resident arrived wearing a tiara and called herself “the queen” throughout the first night, even proclaiming that she hoped the 30-year-old Dancing With the Stars alum was her future king. Victoria was portrayed as a bully throughout the season, consistently mocking the other women. She even snatched Catalina Morales Gómez’s crown off her head amid the Puerto Rico native’s late arrival.
“It was so fun being called queen on set and then after [it] had such negative connotations,” she continued via her Tuesday Story. “But f—k it, who doesn’t love being called queen?”
In a separate slide, she doubled down on her stance of the show’s production team, noting that she “hates” them.
“[Because] they’re manipulative and pick and choose ‘story lines,’” Victoria claimed.
Following her tenure on the ABC franchise, the real estate agent has made it clear that she does not regret her actions.
“Honestly, it was all in good fun,” Victoria told Good Morning America in January 2021. “If my words or actions hurt anyone, like, I sincerely apologize and I’ll do better and hold myself accountable. I’m not a bully. I’m really not. … [The other contestants] knew me and knew my heart and knew that I really never have ill intent, so I think they viewed it differently just because they know me.”
She added at the time: “I anticipated being well-received, so to get, like, the bullying messages and the hate mail and the death threats, [I] wasn’t really prepared for that at all. 100 percent, it was shocking. I don’t think my kindness really got to show through and I really do have a good heart. I actually became friends with one of the new girls.”
The California native went on to appear on season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise, rebranding herself as a “goddess.” She was eventually sent home early on after failing to make a romantic connection.
The ABC series, which is currently filming season 19 of The Bachelorette with Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia, has not publicly addressed Victoria’s recent allegations though previously defended her initial casting.
“Before, we’ve had ‘shades of grey’ villains [on the show], where you understand them more and there is maybe more sympathy for why they would do certain things. This is more black-and-white in that people just absolutely hated her. I totally get why that could be a turn-off to some people,” executive producer Robert Mills told Variety in January 2021. “I’m not saying the show is made purely to stir up drama, but certainly a strong personality like [Victoria] is good. And look, Matt has said that is something that he is attracted to — a woman who is her own woman and who is strong-willed — so you can’t argue that Victoria is not that.”
Us Weekly has reached out for comment.
