Some Bachelor Nation “villains” are there for the wrong reasons … and others are simply misunderstood.
Courtney Robertson, for example, took back the narrative in her 2014 book, I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends: Confessions of a Reality Show Villain. Michelle Money, meanwhile, won over Bachelor Nation after she returned for Bachelor Pad and Bachelor in Paradise.
“The producers really had to convince me [to come back],” the season 15 Bachelor contestant said on Us Weekly’s “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast in July 2020, adding she had a list of requirements for production to return for the spinoffs. “I had emails from the executive producer apologizing about over-editing me and you know, it was just a lot of trust and wanting to be able to be seen for who I really was. And I knew I wouldn’t get that opportunity again. … I’m just a human living this beautiful experience of life. And, I am a ‘villain.’ I am many other things too.”
For Olivia Caridi, justice was served when Ben Higgins and Chris Harrison apologized for her experience on season 20 of The Bachelor.
“There was so much pain associated with it,” Olivia explained on the June 2020 episode of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons Ever. “Seeing what people really thought of me and what people were saying, that was really hard. … I’m sure a lot of it was deserved, but I did feel like some of it was a little ruthless. It affected me. It was, like, making fun of my physical attributes that I can’t change.”
After the host said he was “truly sorry” for what Olivia went through, Ben joined the chat.
“I don’t know if you remember this Olivia, [but] my only request and my only hope was, if all else fails, everybody that participated in the experience left saying they’re glad they did it,” he said. “As I look back on that time, I think my lack of wisdom and maturity and standing up for you publicly, while I knew this was hard for you, I think the way that I navigated the confrontations and issues of the show, could have been better to help you. Mostly, I wanted to speak to you and say I’m sorry. … This girl is a rock star. She laid her heart on the line for love and she tried her best. It didn’t come off perfectly all the time but none of us did.”
Olivia was grateful for their kind words, but also noted during the catch-up interview that she had no regrets.
“The person I am now is so resilient,” she declared. “I am proud of the person that I am today. I’m not ashamed anymore because I know that I am not that person.”
Scroll through for an update on the most infamous “villains” in Bachelor history: