Ranking The Bachelor Franchise's Villains
Villains gotta vil.
Love to hate them, The Bachelor franchise is only as good as its villains, and fortunately, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad and Bachelor in Paradise have had a lot of memorable ones over the seasons.
From shady characters with significant others back home (or even behind the scenes at the show!) to the guy handing out the roses we're supposed to be rooting for, there's been a lot of questionable contestants, with The Bachelor's Shanae Ankney as the most recent entry into the controversy club.
But are they actually the franchise's top villains? We ranked The Bachelor's all-time villains, from least-offensive to most-hated...
25. Olivia Caridi, The Bachelor season 20
Though the newscaster received the first impression rose and earned the wrath of the ladies by constantly stealing Ben Higgins away, Olivia ultimately became a sympathetic figure after they made fun of her feet, large mouth and she cried a lot during the Women Tell All special.
24. Shanae Ankney, The Bachelor season 26
There's no doubt that Shanae Ankney was the standout villain from season 26 of The Bachelor, thanks to her Shrimp-gate drama and her inappropriate reveal of Elizabeth Corrigan's ADHD diagnosis. However, compared to past Bachelor Nation villains, Shanae is essentially harmless.
Yes, she manipulated Clayton Echard with her winning smile, tormented her peers with false claims of bullying and mentioned shrimp far too many times. But that was really it. Shanae never really got into any crazy fights, as she was more passive aggressive than anything. So we find the new addition at the lower end of our ranking.
23. JJ Lane, The Bachelorette season 11
Though he totally went from zero to hero on Bachelor in Paradise season two, JJ, a former investment banker and single father, wasn't exactly loved by viewers...or the other guys (aside from his "Brokeback Bachelor" BFF Clint)... or Amy Schumer, who infamously called him a "turd," during his first stint in the franchise. Hey, "villains gotta vil," right?
22. Michelle Money, The Bachelor season 11
From villainess to fan favorite, Michelle earned heat during her season for talking some serious smack about the girls and for her aggressive tactics. However, she redeemed herself on Bachelor Pad and Bachelor in Paradise, proving a reality TV personality can change its spots.
21. Tierra LiCausi, The Bachelor season 17
While she provided some of our favorite sound bites from the series ("I can't control my eyebrow!" and "Don't let them steal your sparkle!" are still part of our repertoire), she was ultimately harmless...and friendless.
20. Samantha Steffen, The Bachelor season 19
We went from "Wait, who is she?"! during her short stint on The Bachelorette to "Wait, who does she think she is?!" when she tried to craft a backstory with Joe to hide the fact they had been in touch before Paradise. Clearly, she didn't watch HBO's The Jinx because HOT MIC, SAMANTHA.
19. Chad Johnson, The Bachelorette season 12
Only two episodes in and the luxury real estate agent is going to go down in history as one of the franchise's most iconic contestants ever, thanks to his non-stop eating (Is there any meat left in the mansion), his unusual workout routine (He chained his suitcase around his waist to do pull-ups!) and blunt honesty. (He said he refused to tell JoJo Fletcher what he loved about her because he didn't really know her yet, which actually kind of makes sense? It's week two!)
And when the guys would literally not stop confronting him about his actions, Chad offered up this gem: "'We're a bunch of butt-hurt dudes that are going to confront you...slightly.'"
Basically, he's a viewer and producer's dream...which is why he's currently ranked in this spot. But could his upcoming violence, with Chris Harrison saying the other men are "scared for their lives," impact the ranking? Plus, he needs to prove he has the stamina to vill it up for multiple episodes, like some of the contestants ahead of him.
18. Jamie Skaar, The Bachelorette season 18
Red flags all around.
On Michelle Young's season, Jamie started a rumor that Michelle dated contestant Joe Coleman before filming the show. Plus, when called out he didn't own up to it.
17. Ian Thomson, The Bachelorette season 11
An early frontrunner, Ian went down in a blaze of glory embarrassment when he accused Kaitlyn of being "shallow" and then said he should be the next Bachelor. Oh, and his parting words? "I need to have sex."
16. Jake Pavelka, The Bachelor season 14
We still have nightmares over his live trainwreck of a break-up with Vienna Girardi. And his ill-fitting dad jeans.
15. Vienna Girardi, The Bachelor season 14
No one really liked her, and it was easy to see why when she played up her spoiled daddy's girl routine. Her on-camera breakup with Jake Pavelka did her no favors either. And making matters even worse? Her stint on Bachelor Pad with Kasey Kahl by her side, which ended up showing Jake in a favorable light. Quick, someone check to see if pigs are flying by their window!
14. Rozlyn Papa, The Bachelor season 14
She had an "inappropriate relationship" with a producer on the show, and she refused to admit it, leading to super-awkward sitdown with Chris Harrison, where she dared to insult our host with the most.
13. Trish Schneider, The Bachelor season 5
This feminist icon wore a shirt that read: "Gold Digger — Like a hooker...just smarter." And then after she was eliminated, she came back and offered to spent the night with Jesse Palmer. He ran for the hills politely declined.
12. Kalon McMahon, The Bachelorette season 8
He called Emily Maynard's daughter "baggage." And hell hath no fury like a Southern Belle (and Bachelor Nation) scorned.
11. Kelsey Poe, The Bachelor season 19
"Isn't my story great? I love my story." Anyone else get chills thinking about Kelsey saying that after explaining her husband's death? Add in a faked panic attack in order to avoid elimination and you got yourself one of the franchise's most memorable villains.
10. Jed Wyatt, The Bachelorette season 15
Poor Hannah Brown got all of the bad eggs. (But she did get Tyler Cameron, so it makes up for it.)
Learning from his predecessor Wes Hayden, aspiring musician Jed Wyatt went onto Hannah's season in an attempt to promote his country music career. But on their first one-on-one he came clean about it and said he was falling in love.
All good then, right? Wrong. He forgot to mention one other little secret: that he had a secret girlfriend back home.
9. Corinne Olympios, The Bachelor</> season 21
Okay yes, she's considered a "villain," but we're obsessed.
Corinne Olympios is best known for taking the heat from the rest of the girls after sleeping through a rose ceremony on Nick Viall's season. But as she says, Michael Jordan AND Abraham Lincoln took naps, so we don't see the problem.
Plus, with lines like, "my heart is gold, but my vagine is platinum," how could you not love her?
8. Justin Rego, The Bachelorette season 7
Another loser with a girlfriend back home who literally ran away when confronted with the truth by Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky. You can run from the truth, Justin, but you can't ever hide the fact that you nickname is "Rated R." Ew.
7. Joe Bailey, The Bachelorette season 11
"From America's Sweetheart to America's Most Wanted," Jared said on BIP, and ain't it the truth? Joe became Paradise Enemy No. 1 when he duped Juelia Kinney, a single mom, in order to stay in the competition for Samantha, who he had been in contact with before the show. At least he gave us this amazing gem: "Rose over bros!"
6. Wes Hayden, The Bachelorette season 5
This aspiring country singer/actual garbage human being made it to the final four…and then bragged about having a girlfriend back home the entire time in the rejection limo. Class act!
5. Courtney Robertson, The Bachelor season 15
Um, girlfriend wrote a book called I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends: Confessions of a Reality Show Villain.
4. Luke Parker, The Bachelorette season 15
Luke Parker will forever go down as one of the biggest villains in Bachelor Nation history.
During Fantasy Suite week of Hannah Brown's season, Luke shamed Hannah for wanting to have pre-marital sex and questioned how real her faith was. But Hannah clapped back at him saying, "I have had sex and Jesus still loves me."
Luke P is a hard no from us—and from Hannah.
3. Juan Pablo Galavis, The Bachelor season 18
The least-liked Bachelor in history drew a lot of backlash for his blunt and harsh treatment of his ladies, including telling one of the finalists, "I love f—king you, but I don't know you." Off-screen, he caused controversy (and endless headaches at ABC) when he said a gay Bachelor would not be "a good example for kids." Ay yi yi.