Biggest Feuds in ‘Bachelor’ History

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Biggest Feuds in ‘Bachelor’ History

It’s not all roses and rosé on The Bachelor. While the premise of the long-running ABC franchise is to find love, the contestants often end up involved in drama. According to Bachelor Nation’s Ashley Iaconetti, Peter Weber’s season 24 of The Bachelor has the cattiest group of women. “I feel like there’s a lot of mean girls in this season and it makes me feel really sad,” Ashley told Us Weekly exclusively in February 2020. While the podcaster told Us that appearing on Chris Soules’ season “wasn’t that traumatic,” she did find herself on a two-on-one date with Kelsey Poe during the season. “I learned so much about myself and I grew so much character from it and a lot of strength. And I got to know myself better,” Ashley told Us, noting that she would likely let her future kids be on the show. “I would probably be OK with it. However, at the rate that the show is evolving and if it’s more toward this like, oh my God, I don’t want to say wrong reasons, but a little more of a catty environment, I wouldn’t want them in that catty environment.” Peter, for his part, told Us that he just “wanted to see all the good in people.” “Maybe I wish I could’ve put my foot down a little bit more during certain cases and seen the truth a little more clearly,” he explained at the time. “Again, I was trying my best. It’s tough dating that many women. It’s not easy at all.” [sendtonews type="float" key="C47crKYjIc-2832330-14453"]

Katie Thurston, who served as the Bachelorette during season 17, ignited her own Bachelor Nation feud in July 2022 after confirming that she blocked Nick Viall’s phone number following some “odd” comments he made about her.

“I get DMs sometimes that are like, ‘Oh, my God, Nick won’t stop talking s–t about you,'” the Washington native alleged during a TikTok Live session. “I messaged him one time and I was like, ‘Hey, just so you know, people are finding the things you’re saying [about me] kind of odd.’ And in short, he basically [turned it around on me]. He was like, ‘How great that you have fans that care about you! Don’t take it personally!’”

The former Bachelor, for his part, later defended his actions during a July 11, 2022, episode of his “Viall Files” podcast.

“The whole conversation started because I tweeted something about an upcoming episode of hers, and she texted me, ‘Best TV? Boo.’ Then I gave my quick thoughts on the episode,” he said at the time.

Nick read off the alleged text he received from the former bank marketing manager, who told him that she knew Greg Grippo wasn’t The One before his dramatic departure from the show.

Nick revealed he wrote back: “It is good that you have clarity. As long as you are happy, that is what matters.”

In addition to showing they were seemingly on good terms, he read the message in an attempt to prove that Thurston may not be reliable as she more recently claimed she didn’t know whether she would pick Grippo or not.

Credit: Starmaxinc.com/Shutterstock; Mediapunch/Shutterstock; ABC (4)

Biggest Feuds in ‘Bachelor’ History

It’s not all roses and rosé on The Bachelor. While the premise of the long-running ABC franchise is to find love, the contestants often end up involved in drama. According to Bachelor Nation’s Ashley Iaconetti, Peter Weber’s season 24 of The Bachelor has the cattiest group of women. “I feel like there’s a lot of mean girls in this season and it makes me feel really sad,” Ashley told Us Weekly exclusively in February 2020. While the podcaster told Us that appearing on Chris Soules’ season “wasn’t that traumatic,” she did find herself on a two-on-one date with Kelsey Poe during the season. “I learned so much about myself and I grew so much character from it and a lot of strength. And I got to know myself better,” Ashley told Us, noting that she would likely let her future kids be on the show. “I would probably be OK with it. However, at the rate that the show is evolving and if it’s more toward this like, oh my God, I don’t want to say wrong reasons, but a little more of a catty environment, I wouldn’t want them in that catty environment.” Peter, for his part, told Us that he just “wanted to see all the good in people.” “Maybe I wish I could’ve put my foot down a little bit more during certain cases and seen the truth a little more clearly,” he explained at the time. “Again, I was trying my best. It’s tough dating that many women. It’s not easy at all.” [sendtonews type="float" key="C47crKYjIc-2832330-14453"]

Katie Thurston, who served as the Bachelorette during season 17, ignited her own Bachelor Nation feud in July 2022 after confirming that she blocked Nick Viall’s phone number following some “odd” comments he made about her.

“I get DMs sometimes that are like, ‘Oh, my God, Nick won’t stop talking s–t about you,'” the Washington native alleged during a TikTok Live session. “I messaged him one time and I was like, ‘Hey, just so you know, people are finding the things you’re saying [about me] kind of odd.’ And in short, he basically [turned it around on me]. He was like, ‘How great that you have fans that care about you! Don’t take it personally!’”

The former Bachelor, for his part, later defended his actions during a July 11, 2022, episode of his “Viall Files” podcast.

“The whole conversation started because I tweeted something about an upcoming episode of hers, and she texted me, ‘Best TV? Boo.’ Then I gave my quick thoughts on the episode,” he said at the time.

Nick read off the alleged text he received from the former bank marketing manager, who told him that she knew Greg Grippo wasn’t The One before his dramatic departure from the show.

Nick revealed he wrote back: “It is good that you have clarity. As long as you are happy, that is what matters.”

In addition to showing they were seemingly on good terms, he read the message in an attempt to prove that Thurston may not be reliable as she more recently claimed she didn’t know whether she would pick Grippo or not.

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Nick Viall vs. Katie Thurston

The Bachelorette season 17 lead revealed in July 2022 that she had blocked Viall’s number after he made some “odd” comments about her on his “Viall Files” podcast.

“Nick is just — I don’t know what to say about him, to be honest,” Katie said during a TikTok Live at the time, joking that she “forget[s] he exists” occasionally.

The Wisconsin native, for his part, later questioned Thurston’s intentions for revealing their supposed bad blood.

“I hear so much [while hosting ‘The Viall Files’] about everyone. There is so much that I know, which is part of why I have this rule. If people want to put stuff out there for us to respond to [then] fine. But I don’t want to be airing people’s laundry that I hear or how they treated other people,” Nick told girlfriend Natalie Joy during an episode of his podcast later that month. “I have heard some horror stories about my peers, but I don’t want to put it all out there. It is almost as if [Katie] feels like she has this ownership over these guys from her season.”

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Taylor Nolan vs. Arie Luyendyk Jr.

The season 21 Bachelor alum slammed Arie for sharing Instagram polls about the 2020 presidential election that November. As a result, the season 22 Bachelor criticized the sex therapist’s Instagram ad “for a pleasure sleeve for penises.”

Arie commented on Taylor’s paid post, “Love how you came after me for posting an election poll but you’re advertising masturbation pads or whatever he [SIC] hell this is … classy.”

The former Bachelor in Paradise season 5 star subsequently accused Arie of bullying, sex-shaming and belittling her.

“This is part of what I do for my job, I do partnerships on Instagram. I also work as a sex therapist. I’m a licensed psychotherapist and I’m in school getting my PhD in clinical sexology. So, this is the post that he feels is something that he can put me down with. That it’s laughable. … [It’s] sex-shaming and sex negativity, which this is not a space for. Y’all know that I don’t play with that s—t. My whole passion and job, literally that I’ve chosen, is to fight against that,” she said in a 12-minute video via Instagram. “This isn’t just a regular post of me talking about sex toys or sex in general. [This] is a partnership post, that could hit me in my income, that could hit me in my ability to do partnerships, that there’s specific shaming in how I’m making my money, which mind you is really no different than how he’s making his money. Mine just maybe has a little more impact for people than his does.”

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Andi Dorfman vs. Juan Pablo Galavais

Andi famously walked away from Juan Pablo after their fantasy suite date during season 18 of The Bachelor because she felt like he wasn’t trying to get to know her. After he repeatedly told her “It’s OK,” she declared, “I want to die if I have to hear ‘It’s OK’ again.” 

Andi, who went on to star as The Bachelorette in season 10, detailed her time on the reality series in her first book, appropriately titled, It’s Not Okay. In the tell-all, Andi threw shade at Juan. “He blasted Ray J and R. Kelly all night long and showed me dozens of videos of his old soccer highlights on YouTube," she wrote. “All there was was the realization that I was nothing more than a pretty object he had no intentions of liking, let alone loving, and thus no amount of free travel was enticing enough to stay any longer.” 

During a January 2018 interview with Us, Andi summed up her time on the show: “We had more fun with each other than we did with the Bachelor, my season.”

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Ashley Iaconetti vs. Kelsey Poe

Chris Soules’ season featured one of the most dramatic two-on-one dates in history. After arguing during the season, Ashley and Kelsey faced off in the Badlands.

“I just got thrown under the bus. This is a game to her. She’s a Kardashian who didn’t get to go on a princess date, who has way too much makeup on be genuine,” Kelsey declared before Chris dumped both of them on the date. “She’s desperate. … I am a woman and I am going to remember that she thinks she’s playing a game, but I’m not.” 

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Nick Viall vs. Shawn Booth

Shawn made it clear he wasn’t a fan of Nick when he showed up during Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette in 2015. And when Nick slept with Kaitlyn before the overnight dates, Shawn was livid. "Nick and Shawn just hate each other," Kaitlyn declared during the season. "It's actually taking away from what I feel for both of them." 

While the Canadian picked Shawn in the end, he later revealed that the “Nick situation,” was “always in the back of [his] mind” during a January 2019 interview, two months after Shawn and Kaitlyn split. She echoed Shawn’s thoughts that November: "I think I was made to feel shame but deep down I knew I wasn't ashamed.”

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Chad Johnson vs. Evan Bass

Chad and Evan argued on JoJo Fletcher's season. Their feud took a dark turn when Evan joked that Chad of does steroids. "You're going to f—king die dude, if you don't chill out,” Chat told Evan as he ripped his shirt.

Chad threatened violence again on Bachelor in Paradise season 3: “As far as Evan goes, I didn’t murder him, so that’s good. I didn’t rip his d–k off and shove it down his own mouth. But yeah, I still kind of want to cut his head off and throw it in the water.”

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Corinne Olympios vs. Taylor Nolan

Corinne didn’t take it well when Taylor told her she lacked “emotional intelligence” on Nick Viall’s season of The Bachelor. As a result, Corinne questioned Taylor’s abilities as a mental health counselor. During their two-on-one date, Nick kept Corinne over Taylor. 

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Hannah Brown vs. Caelynn Miller-Keyes

Pageant drama alert! Hannah and Caelynn knew each other from the pageant world before they both competed for Colton Underwood’s heart on The Bachelor. During season 23, there was tension between the women. 

“We’re not necessarily the best of friends. We were roommates at Miss USA. We were super close, and then she wasn’t happy that I was first runner-up. She was mad that she didn’t place, for sure,” Caelynn said. “There were a lot of hurt feelings. With Hannah, there’s a façade and then it starts to crumble. Hannah kind of snapped; she flipped a switch. I was like, 'Wow, this is a whole new Hannah.' Being in this environment, it’s pretty similar. I have no doubt that switch will be flipped soon. It happened pretty quickly.” 

While they both questioned each other’s character while chatting with Colton, they ultimately called a truce. 

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Luke Parker vs. Hannah Brown

Luke quickly went from frontrunner to villain after he slut-shamed Hannah for sleeping with another contestant during season 15 of The Bachelorette. “I have had sex. And honestly, Jesus still loves me. From obviously how you feel, me f–king in a windmill, you probably wanna leave,” she declared. “I f–ked in a windmill. And guess what? We did it a second time!”

Hannah was forced to kick Luke out when he returned for the final three rose ceremony.

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John Paul Jones vs. Derek Peth

JPJ accused Derek of taking advantage of women during season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise after they were both interested in Tayshia Adams. “[Derek] has expressed to me, multiple times, his reaching out to his fans, taking advantage of them sexually, as a result of acquiring fame through this process,” JPJ claimed. “He’s mentioned multiple times that you can f—k some of the women that follow you [on social media].”

Derek denied JPJ’s remarks and the two women nearly got physical. 

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Rachel Lindsay vs. Raven Gates

While the ladies became fast friends on Nick’s season of The Bachelor, their friendship ended after the season aired. Rachel and Raven, however, have both refused to publicly reveal what went wrong. 

“I can’t say. I promised I wouldn’t say. But it was enough for me to not want to be friends with her anymore,” Rachel, who didn’t invite Raven to her wedding, said Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in October 2019.

A month later, Raven, replied on the “Off the Vine” podcast: “I wish I had answers, but I don’t and I don’t know if I ever will. I have been really saddened by the whole thing just because I really loved her. I guess I just have to put it to rest and it is what it is.”

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Rachel Lindsay vs. Colton Underwood

Colton inserted himself into Rachel’s feud with Raven in 2019. “Shocker. Rachel mad at another person… does she like anyone?” the former football player commented on Us Weekly’s Instagram about Rachel and Raven’s beef. “I’m not weighing in on the Rachel/Raven drama. I could care less about that, not my business. What is my business is the countless number of times she’s spoke poorly of me… including that time she ran her mouth about me to Cassie … Funny thing is I have never met her.”

After Rachel replied by inviting Colton on her podcast to hash things out, he replied, “I’ll come on your podcast Rachel. One condition: ask your producer to leave it raw, unedited and untouched. Looking forward to meeting you & pointing out your hypocrisy over the last year.”  

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Kenny King vs. Lee Garrett

Lee was accused of being racist when he called Kenny “aggressive” during Rachel’s season of The Bachelorette. "When you call him 'aggressive' there is a long-standing history in this country of regarding black men in America as aggressive to justify a lot of other things," fellow contestant Will Gaskins explained.

Lee, as a result, accused Kenny of "playing the race card.” 

While Rachel ultimately sent Lee home on the two-on-one date, the two men fought again when Lee’s racially insensitive tweets were read on the Men Tell All. While he apologized, Kenny quipped, “Everybody's sorry when they get caught.”

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Michelle Money vs. Everyone on Brad Womack‘s Season

It’s safe to say Michelle didn’t get along with the majority of the women in the house also competing for Brad Womack’s heart on season 11 of The Bachelor. While the women thought Michelle was too aggressive and snarky, Michelle thought she was confident and sarcastic. During the Women Tell All, Michelle broke down in tears as the women confronted her.

“I’m equating you to a spider. You're like creepy and everybody's afraid of you,” Jackie Gordon declared.  

Stacey Queripel attacked Michelle’s parenting: ”In my family, you put your child first … I felt like you put you first.”

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Courtney Robertson vs. Emily O’Brien

After Emily told Ben Flajnik that Courtney is “different” around him than she is with the other girls, Courtney wasn’t happy. 

"I want to rip her head off and verbally assault her, or shave her eyebrows off in the middle of the night," Courtney said to the camera. "She should watch herself. I'm done being nice to that girl." 

Emily defended herself to the other women: ”I hate that I jeopardized my time to talk about someone else, but I just hate [to think] that he'd end up with someone who's been dishonest with him."

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Arie Luyendyk Jr. vs. Jef Holm

Arie and Jef were friends while filming Emily Maynard‘s season of The Bachelorette, but had a falling out after Sean Lowe’s 2014 wedding. 

"Jef and I haven't spoken since Sean's wedding, which was four or five years ago now, and obviously a lot has happened in that amount of time,” Arie said on a podcast in January 2019. “He brought a date. I felt like he handled the situation badly with his date and he didn’t treat that person right,” he said. “I spoke out, and then he got into a fight with myself and a few of the producers, and that was the last time we talked. I just felt like, in the moment, I had to stick up for that person that he brought instead of him and I felt like he thought that I chose the wrong side, but in actuality I felt like he was treating that person in a negative way… I think maybe there's a little bit of jealousy.”

A year earlier, Jef threw shade at Arie when he was named the Bachelor. “Doesn't matter who gets out of the limo...I'll give 5k to  he charity of  @chrisbharrison's choice if  @ariejr lasts 1 year with anyone,” he tweeted.

Arie, who married winner Lauren Burnham in January 2019, fired back after the nuptials: “Pay up @jefholm... Put that trust fund money into something positive instead of bottle service. Asshole.”