While The Bachelor franchise’s main job is to encourage fairytale love stories, the truth is that many viewers also watch for the guaranteed drama. Almost every season on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, there is at least one contestant who is deemed the season villain.
Sometimes these so-called villains are eliminated as soon as the Bachelor Nation lead catches on to them. However, many villains have made it to hometowns or further. Throughout the years there have been dozens of Bachelor Nation villains. These five are the most memorable from recent years.
Shanae Ankney – The Bachelor Season 26
On the Bachelor Season 26, led by Clayton Echard, Shanae Ankney quickly earned her title as a Bachelor Nation villain. Shanae was problematic from the start, and found herself in conflict with most of the other women in the house. However, Shanae really began to cross the line when she made fun of fellow contestant Elizabeth Corrigan, for having ADHD.
Shanae’s toxic behavior did not stop there. She later crashed a group date that she had not been invited to. After the other women had a negative reaction to her showing up, Shanae threw their trophy into the pool during a fit of rage. Eventually, Clayton sent Shanae home, after she accused fellow contestant Geneveive Parisi of being an actress during their two-on-one date.
While Shanae was known as the bad guy during The Bachelor, she had a huge redemption story when she later appeared on Bachelor In Paradise Season 8. Shanae made amends with many of the women from her season, who she is now friends with today.
Luke Parker – The Bachelorette Season 15
Luke Parker is another notorious Bachelor Nation villain, who had a long run on The Bachelorette Season 15, led by Hannah Brown. On night one, Luke was awarded the first impression rose, although things quickly began to go downhill. Luke isolated himself from the other contestants, and acted as if he was the winner from the start.
Hannah and Luke tried to work through their issues almost all season, to no avail. Somehow, Luke made it all the way to hometowns, where he finally made a good impression on Hannah again. This did not last long, however, as he was eliminated during his fantasy suite date, after telling Hannah that he could not continue with her if she slept with any of the other men.
During the rose ceremony, Luke shocked viewers when he showed up to try to rehash things with Hannah. In a bombshell moment, Hannah told Luke to leave, and even proceeded to move the podium away from him. Since then, Luke has remained one of the most infamous Bachelor Nation villains to date.
Jamie Skaar – The Bachelorette Season 18
Jamie Skaar started off The Bachelorette Season 18 as one of the frontrunners. However, it was not long before he became the season villain. On night one, Michelle Young was impressed by Jamie, who immediately caught her attention with his charisma. Michelle was so surprised by Jamie that she gave him her first one-on-one date, where their connection grew even further.
However, Michelle and Jamie’s honeymoon phase did not last long, as things quickly went downhill for the pair. Jamie told Michelle that the other contestants were angry that she and Joe Coleman had a relationship before filming, although neither of these things were true. Jamie pulled this lie out of thin air, and brought it to Michelle for no apparent reason.
After confronting the other men, Michelle realized that Jamie had concocted the entire lie, and made him confess. Jamie was then sent home, and returned during the Men Tell All to explain his side of the story.
Victoria Larson – The Bachelor Season 25
Victoria Larson was not on The Bachelor Season 25 for long. But she made quite the notorious impression during her short time there. On night one, Victoria presented herself as “the queen,” and made it clear that she thought the other contestants were inferior to her. Victoria lacked a connection with leading man Matt James, although she still tried to make the other women feel insecure about their own connections.
After her elimination, Victoria did not hug Matt goodbye, as most contestants typically do. Instead, Victoria told Matt that she feels sorry for him, due to the group of women that he still had left. On her way out, Victoria also called Matt a jester, and emphasized that she was still a queen.
Victoria’s time on The Bachelor was merely comical, and some viewers suspected that her scenes had been scripted by producers. Victoria later appeared briefly on Bachelor In Paradise Season 8, although she was sent home on night one.
TELL US – WHO DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST BACHELOR NATION VILLAIN?