Millions of Americans tuned in for ABC’s The Bachelor this week and simultaneously realized that after 18 seasons, the show is not the romantic idyll it purports itself to be.
“Watching Juan Pablo and the way he treated Andi, I had this sudden realization – it’s not that he’s a jerk, it’s that the entire premise of this show is sexist and unrealistic,” says viewer Anne Henderson. “How could you expect to have a meaningful connection with a guy while he’s sleeping with other women on a competitive game show?”
Fans across the country are suddenly expressing outrage at the show’s long-established premise. “I always love a good love story and have been watching The Bachelor since it’s inception,” explained Trudi Myers, former fan of the program. “Then this week, it hit me – this is not how relationships should work. Couples should be on equal footing, not with one person trying to impress the other over 26 other women. I can’t believe I didn’t see it until now.”
Even Bachelor contestant Andi Dorfman was caught off-guard by the realization. “I joined the show thinking maybe, just maybe, I could fall in love with the man of my dreams. But that was incredibly stupid of me. I mean, they’re casting us solely based on looks. They didn’t even ask me what my interests were.”
Asked whether they’d keep watching, many fans said they’d stick it out through the finale.
“It’s kind of ruined for me at this point,” says Henderson, “but a part of me can’t give up hope that we might see a storybook ending for Juan Pablo and one of these lucky ladies after all.”
