When ABC announced that Becca Kufrin would star in the 14th installment of "The Bachelorette," I was really excited for her; in fact, I wrote an article about it. As there always is, Becca's season contained a lot of sweet moments and plenty of drama. As the show went on, though, I realized that there were several less than ideal moments in the season that I just didn't like. For being a huge fan of Becca and wanting her happy ending, I was just disappointed by several factors where things just didn't go right.
Here are some of those issues.
1. Arie being brought up constantly
I will admit that as the season progressed, Becca's ex was dropped, but early on, that wasn't the case. Some men included Arie and the breakup in their arrival speeches, Chris name-dropped him constantly, and other men couldn't stop talking about it. While it's important to acknowledge that this happened, was it really necessary to mention it multiple times per episode? Arie and Becca had moved on, as should we.
2. The fact that someone from Becca’s hometown who she knew in real life was a contestant
I don't know anything about the numbers or how ABC chooses contestants, but I don't understand why they would choose someone from Becca's hometown. Perhaps worst yet was that Becca and Jake had mutual friends, hence knew each other well before "The Bachelorette." To me, it felt like a waste of a spot, and ABC would have done better by choosing someone from anywhere else.
3. Garrett’s social media scandal
I could practically write another article dedicated to this drama alone. In May, after the show premiered, it was brought to light that Garrett liked several Instagram posts that made fun of transgender people and feminists, claimed a school shooting survivor was a crisis actor and said that immigrant children should be thrown over the border. He has since deleted his Instagram and apologized for his wrongdoing, and Becca has stood by him. This last fact is pretty interesting since Becca supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and participated in the Women's March. Hearing about this early on made me wish Garrett would go home, despite getting the first impression rose, but he did not.
4. Letting a sex offender come on the show
Yes, you read that right. Way back in May 2016, Lincoln Adim was convicted of indecent assault and battery after he groped and assaulted a woman on a cruise ship. He was sentenced to one year in a correctional facility, but this was suspended for two years. During these two years, he was ordered to stay away from the victim and attend three AA meetings a week. Plus, he is expected to register as a sex offender. After hearing this news, I was surprised that ABC would allow a sex offender to come on the show, but in an unfathomable twist, ABC had NO idea of Adim's past. ABC has stated that they had no idea about Adim's past. They use a third-party agency to do background checks, and their report didn't find out about this either. I mean, seriously?
5. When Clay went home
When Clay voluntarily went home after his injury, I was devastated. He had been one of my favorites from the beginning, so I was sad to see him go. Especially after the show ended, I wondered how far he would've gone had he stayed.
6. When Jean Blanc said the “l-word” in a last-ditch attempt to stay
From the very beginning, Becca asked the men for honesty and openness. The first violation of this came when Becca was escorting Jean Blanc out of the mansion to go home. He told her that he was falling in love with her but then admitted that he only said that to get her to keep him. This was just shady and disrespectful.
7. Everything about Jordan
For some reason, the show always has to have the villain who hates everyone and tries to bring the other contestants down. Jordan was completely narcissistic, more into his modeling career than Becca. His golden underpants charade and poor attitude were all I needed to see Jordan as a joke.
8. The petty catfight between David and Jordan
For whatever reason, David (best known for his chicken suit) and Jordan just didn't get along. There's nothing wrong for people to disagree, but it got to the point that these two were more focused on their fight than winning Becca's affections. I was relieved when Becca sent both men home on the two on one date. However, they are both participating in the new season of "Bachelor in Paradise," so time can only tell if their drama will unfold there too.
9. When Chris flew off the handle for no reason
Chris had been doing so well, having received a one on one date that went reasonably well. Yet, out of nowhere, Chris lost all control and simply went crazy, lashing out at the other men and losing all confidence he had in Becca. Like Jordan and David, I was relieved that he went home, but he is debuting on "Bachelor in Paradise."
10. The virgin-shaming done by basically everyone to Colton
In the episode where Colton opened up to Becca about being a virgin, it seemed like the other men – and Becca herself – were completely unaccepting to the point of mocking him. The other men had a hard time believing that he is a virgin, and Becca walked away after Colton told her this intimate detail. The other men shouldn't care about the status of Colton's sex life, and I was rather disgusted that Becca was so rude to Colton in a vulnerable moment.
11. Becca being “in love” with two men
Becca mentioned sparks and feelings for other men, but reserved actual "love" for Blake and Garrett. Though she never told the men this, she constantly told the camera about it. This came to a head in the finale episode where Becca struggles to choose which man she wants to be with. As a viewer, I could see where she had chemistry and feelings with each, but it was hard for me to understand that Becca could actually be in love with the two of them. To me, if she really loved Garrett, her choice would've been more obvious.
12. Becca’s repeated interest and connection to Blake, only to send him home last minute
From the moment Becca told the camera that she loved Blake, I felt confident that Becca would choose him in the end, and it seems that Becca did too. She always had such wonderful things to say about him that consistently topped whatever she had to say about Garrett. Yet, after her struggle to choose, filled with tears and regret, Becca sent him home. This is something I am STILL struggling to understand since Garrett seemed to plain and lackluster compared to Blake.
13. Garrett getting the final rose
Even before I heard about the Instagram likes scandal, I didn't really like Garrett. He and Becca never had a really intense connection, and I never found myself rooting for them. It took Garrett forever to stay "I love you" to her, and when he did, it didn't feel authentic at all. Ultimately, Becca chose him, and the two are still together. To me, they don't seem very compatible. After all of the hype about Becca finding her happiness, I found the season finale to be a major disappointment.
