A Bachelor Nation honor or totally creepy? After Ryan Fox was caught with a Bachelorette playbook during Michelle Young’s premiere, several of the contestants cited in the cheat sheet are weighing in on the drama.
Cohosts Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams found the 30-year-old California native’s notes about the ABC series while searching his bags during the Tuesday, October 19, premiere. After the 28-year-old lead seemingly struck a connection with Ryan, the former Bachelorettes stepped in to warn her that he may not be there for the right reasons. In the lengthy set of typed notes, Jason Tartick, Mike Johnson and Blake Horstmann are clearly named.
“Jason was at the top of his strategy book right there,” Blake, 32, said of Kaitlyn’s fiancé while watching the episode via Instagram Stories. “Jason Tartick and paragraphs. Not wrong, he did good.”
While the Bachelor in Paradise season 6 alum initially joked that he was “probably near the bottom” of the list of guys, he later realized he was named third. He went on to address speculation that the drama was fake.
“Obviously, Kaitlyn and Tayshia definitely went in there knowing — I’m sure, I don’t know this for sure — but knowing that they were going to find that or something bad. Because producers do look through all of our stuff and that is something we sign off on. My room, they looked through all of my suitcases, I remember opening it and it was a disaster. So the producers look through your stuff because there are rules — things you can take, can’t take. Can’t take f—king cocaine or anything [that] gets through the long nights or anything. I’m guessing the producers probably found that it and were like, ‘Woo this is going to be good TV’ and then they told Tayshia and Kaitlyn to go in there. So in that sense, it was probably staged, but this is harmless entertainment.”
From the quick glimpse of the notes, fans can see Jason, Blake and Mike listed as “who to emulate from the show.” Under the Bachelorette season 15 alum’s name, it also says “has major swagger.”
“Idk if I should feel offended bc I only have one skill lol or is this a proud moment #TheBachelorette,” Mike wrote alongside the screenshot.
Michelle, for her part, confronted Ryan during the premiere and he claimed his wife’s friend gave him the guidebook because he’s never seen the show before. Fans later discovered via Instagram that Ryan participated in the Bachelor Live On Stage tour in February 2020.
Despite his attempts to stay, the Minnesota native sent him packing ahead of the rose ceremony because she didn’t want to start a relationship with so many “red flags.”
The Bachelorette airs on ABC Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Scroll through for all of the reactions from Ryan’s playbook:
Excerpt from Ryan Fox's 'Bachelorette' playbook.[/caption]
“Obviously, Kaitlyn and Tayshia definitely went in there knowing — I'm sure, I don't know this for sure — but knowing that they were going to find that or something bad. Because producers do look through all of our stuff and that is something we sign off on. My room, they looked through all of my suitcases, I remember opening it and it was a disaster. So the producers look through your stuff because there are rules — things you can take, can’t take. Can’t take f—king cocaine or anything [that] gets through the long nights or anything. I'm guessing the producers probably found that it and were like, ‘Woo this is going to be good TV' and then they told Tayshia and Kaitlyn to go in there. So in that sense, it was probably staged, but this is harmless entertainment.”
