Marine vs. Marine. The Bachelorette’s Alex Woytkiw spoke out about this season’s notorious villain, Chad Johnson, and all the drama he caused in the Bachelor mansion and beyond on JoJo Fletcher’s season of the ABC dating show.
Many viewers — and Fletcher — sympathized with Johnson after he revealed that his mother passed away about six months ago. He said the reason he hadn’t had a serious relationship in several years is because he spent all his time caring for his mom. “I felt a sense of compassion for him,” Woytkiw, 25, said during a conference call on Wednesday, June 8. “From my perspective, I felt like he used that as a crutch. I know that it’s a painful thing, but for [JoJo], as you can see, she felt like she wanted to be there for him.”
“It is something that we all felt was a huge play in why JoJo kept him around,” he continued. “I think he’s got to be struck with grief, but it was kind of manipulating too.”
The two men originally clashed after Woytkiw called out Johnson for interrupting other contestants’ time with Fletcher, and things escalated from there, with Johnson continually threatening the others. “I would say that Chad is a Chihuahua. He’s all bark,” Woytkiw said. “I’m not concerned for myself or any other guy in the house because any threats he’s made because he was a big talker, and I think the show shows that.”
Woytkiw originally hoped he would befriend Johnson, since they both served in the Marine Corps. “If you ask anyone that’s served, especially in the same branch, there’s this, like, unspoken law … that you don’t need to earn my respect. You already have my respect, man. You’re my brother,” he said. “I saw nothing in him that represented the Marines.”
The enemies were pitted against each other on a two-on-one date, where only one could receive a rose, during episode 4. “I tried to look at that date as an opportunity for me to show [JoJo] that I got her back, and for her to trust that my insight was true, and I think she saw that,” Woytkiw said.
Overall, he feels that the ABC reality show gave Johnson a fair portrayal. “I don’t think he was villainized. I think he was truly villainous,” he said.
Woytkiw also weighed in on rumors circulating about his fellow contestants and friends. Grant Kemp and Robby Hayes reportedly dumped their girlfriends back home to come on the show, and Jordan Rodgers’ ex-girlfriend accused him of cheating on her and always wanting to be famous in an Instagram post. “I trust their character, and I trust that there might be a misunderstanding with whatever’s going on,” Woytkiw said.
The Bachelorette returns to ABC Monday, June 20, at 8 p.m. ET.
