After more than 20 years of The Bachelor and its various spin-offs (including The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise), fans have met a lot of contestants, and they haven't all been winners — literally. While some of the reality stars who shot to fame on the show have gone on to do amazing things, others became unforgettable because of the drama and controversy they stirred up during their time in Bachelor Nation, and we definitely don't mean that in a good way.
Between Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Jason Mesnick both changing their minds about who they wanted to be engaged to at the last minute, and contestants like Chad Johnson losing their cool on camera on multiple occasions, we've seen a lot of wild things on these shows. And it seems like even watching this stuff play out hasn't given anyone any reason to hold back — they never learn!
Read on for the most controversial contestants in Bachelor history. There's no doubt that future seasons have many more people just like this in store for us.
Justin Rego
Justin Rego immediately made himself one of the most unlikable Bachelorette contestants ever when he hurt one of the most likable leads' feelings. On Ali Fedotowsky's season, she discovered that he actually had a secret girlfriend back home — obviously a huge no-no when going on a reality show looking for love.
Jason Mesnick
Jason Mesnick shocked fans on his After the Final Rose special when he changed his mind about his final pick. Instead of staying with his final rose winner, Melissa Rycroft, Jason broke up with her on camera and then confessed his feelings for his runner-up, Molly. This didn't win him any fans, but it does seem like he made the right choice — he and Molly are still married today.
Arie Luyendyk Jr.
Years later, Arie Luyendyk Jr. found himself in the same position as Jason. After getting engaged to Becca Kufrin on his season finale, he realized that he actually wanted to be with his runner-up, Lauren. Fans were miffed at the fact that he invited cameras to blindside Becca with a breakup during what she thought would be a fun weekend together as a couple, but much like Jason, Arie seems to have made the right choice. He and Lauren are still together, married, and parents to three children (including a set of twins).
Juan Pablo Galavis
It's hard to say exactly who is the most disliked Bachelor in the franchise's history, but if there was a list, Juan Pablo Galavis would be up there. He seemed like a sweet, handsome single dad at the beginning, but after seeing the way he treated his contestants (who included Clare Crawley and Andi Dorfman) and rarely let them get a word in edgewise, fans thought otherwise.
Peter Weber
After meeting Peter Weber on Hannah Brown's season of The Bachelorette, it was next to impossible not to fall in love with this pilot, who ended up romancing the lead in a windmill. But once he got his own season, well … let's just say fans weren't impressed. In the end, he hurt both of his runners-up, and his relationship with one of his other contestants, Kelley Flanagan, crashed and burned pretty quickly after the show, too.
Chad Johnson
First, Chad Johnson was known as the villain of JoJo Fletcher's season, and all the attention he got led him to a spot on Bachelor in Paradise, where things only got worse. He wasted no time cussing at host Chris Harrison and getting himself kicked off the show, displaying seriously erratic behavior.
Rachael Kirkconnell
While Matt James' season of The Bachelor was filming, Rachael Kirkconnell found herself embroiled in a huge scandal when evidence of her racist past surfaced — a situation that even led to longtime host Chris Harrison stepping down from the show. In the end, Matt stayed with Rachael, his final rose winner, but she'll always be associated with the controversy.
Garrett Yrigoyen
Becca Kufrin's former fiancé, Garrett Yrigoyen, was at the center of controversy even while their season of The Bachelorette was still filming. Fans uncovered some of his racist, sexist, and homophobic Instagram likes, and it was a bit shocking when Becca remained engaged to him anyway after the show ended. Years later, though, they did end up going their separate ways without tying the knot.
Jenna Cooper
Fans turned against Jenna Cooper when they found out that she wasn't who she told her Bachelor in Paradise love, Jordan Kimball, she was — turns out, she'd been faking the whole relationship for the fame. But later, Jenna was able to prove that it was actually Jordan who faked the text messages that falsely incriminated her, resulting in one big mess.
Greg Grippo
On Katie Thurston's season of The Bachelorette, Greg Grippo eliminated himself right before the finale, gaslighting and manipulating her in the process. Later, Greg tried to defend himself on After the Final Rose, but Katie really wasn't having it.
Jed Wyatt
Jed Wyatt wormed his way into Hannah Brown's heart on The Bachelorette with his smooth-talking ways and his slick guitar playing skills, but it wasn't long before she found out what he was really about. It was heartbreaking to see her discover that he had actually been cheating on her, but fortunately, she was able to walk away before they got too deep in their engagement.
Josh Murray
After Andi Dorfman's engagement to Josh Murray didn't work out, he'd go on to get serious with Amanda Stanton on Bachelor in Paradise. But it didn't take long for fans to see that he had major anger issues, and he's basically disappeared from the franchise since their breakup.
Nick Viall
After two seasons of The Bachelorette — one in which he showed up mid-season to try to win Kaitlyn Bristowe over — his own season of The Bachelor, and a stint on Bachelor in Paradise, Nick became controversial by virtue of how often he kept coming back for more. But these days, he seems to have found his perfect match, girlfriend Natalie Joy.
Corinne Olympios
On Nick's season of The Bachelor, Corinne's personality was one of the biggest in the mansion. Despite the fact that she was an adult, she told everyone that she had a nanny and didn't even cook for herself, which didn't exactly win her any friends.
Blake Horstmann
Blake seemed like a total sweetie on Becca's season of The Bachelorette but after getting to know him better on Bachelor in Paradise, he stirred up a bit of controversy himself. As it turned out, he had relationships going with a few different Bach women at the same time, all centered around the Stagecoach music festival. Sigh.
Luke Parker
Hannah Brown's season was just full of winners — and we mean that sarcastically, of course. Though Hannah couldn't see through him at first, Luke Parker was constantly talking down to Hannah, making her feel like she wasn't good enough for him. Seeing her finally kick him to the curb was so, so satisfying.
Chris Soules
Though farmer Chris Soules seemed like a genuinely good guy on his season of The Bachelor, after the show, he got into a fatal crash while driving under the influence in his home state of Iowa, killing a man driving his tractor. What's worse is that Chris then fled the scene. In 2019, Chris was sentenced to two years of probation.
