Bachelorette viewers have taken issue with Hunter who has come out of this season thus far looking like a villain as he competed for Katie Thurston’s affections.
Hunter and Katie appeared to have made a connection early on, and he became one of the contestants of the season that was favored to win her heart.
However, during the series’ July 5 episode, Hunter appeared to reveal more of a sinister side as he hogged all of Katie’s time during a group date and left the other contestants angered over what they felt was his dishonest intentions.
During a challenging game where the men played a sport between rugby and basketball, Hunter delivered a crushing hit to Mike P. This escalated the violence between the contestants and culminated when Justin hit Michael A. so hard it caused an injury frightening enough to have Katie call the game off.
During a group date, the other men in the house suspected Hunter was not playing fair as he tried to entice Katie by showing her photos of his children, an appeal to her heart as he showed off his sensitive side. It worked and he won the group date rose.
“I’m setting myself apart for sure,” Hunter later stated in a confessional. “My goal is for her to forget about these other relationships and for these guys to come back to the house with their tail between their legs.”
Hunter monopolized Katie until the men took action
During the group cocktail party, Katie walked off with each man as they tried to steal away some precious time.
Hunter said his new strategy was to be aggressive as he looked ahead to the hometown dates.
The men became angry after Hunter pulled Katie aside for a mini-date. James interrupted their Katie’s time and earned praise from Katie for his bold move.
Tre told Hunter that he was acting in a manner similar to Thomas, who was sent home the week prior.
Viewers reacted to Hunter’s actions
Bachelorette fans reacted to Hunter’s actions. They felt he acted manipulative and dishonest.
“Yeah Hunter, be really proud you got that rose, since you used your kids as a manipulation tool to get it,” claimed one viewer.
“Hunter is a total manipulator! He is obviously competitive in nature as shown in the competition earlier and Katie is just another end prize to compete for,” claimed a second fan.
“I hate to say it but I think Hunter was using his kids as a prop & it worked. I think his true nature is very dark. He’s a scary dude & I hope for Katie’s sake she sees through him. She’s pretty smark. She got rid of Thomas in an epic way! She’ll figure it out!” remarked a third follower.
In turn, Katie defended Hunter against some of the accusations lobbed against him. She told fans that he has Tourette’s syndrome, a nervous system disorder where a person makes unwanted sounds or has ticks such as repeatedly blinking their eyes, shrugging shoulders, or blurting out offensive words.
“Remember you only get to see a portion of who these men are. For example, you probably didn’t know Hunter has Tourettes. So I encourage everyone to think twice before commenting negative things about these men,” Kaite explained.
In response, a fan tweeted, “Sorry Hunter. Didn’t know what you were grappling with. Many aspects of someone’s character not seen in a few short clips on a TV show. We all have flaws/demons to carry. We are all good & bad, yin & yang. Shouldn’t be judgmental but it’s hard when live-tweeting,” they penned.
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.