All of us in Bachelor Nation watch Bachelor franchise shows for the beautiful love stories; the romance, the connection, people finding their soul mates, and the real love that is obviously present in every moment.
Just kidding!
Audiences watch The Bachelor for the drunk girl that falls into the pool, the guy that meets a lead and makes an inappropriate joke (or even worse, shows up in a cupcake), all the tears, and most importantly, the meltdowns!
Who doesn’t love a good sniffling, angry, screaming, tear-filled, embarrassing, cringe-worthy meltdown on national television?
(Especially if you’re a Bachelor producer.)
Let’s take a walk down memory lane and enjoy all those Bachelor franchise meltdowns.
1. Annaliese has bumper car trauma
We’ve been introduced to a lot of new vocabulary throughout the many seasons of The Bachelor, including “here for the right reasons” and “eees okay,” but “bumper car trauma” was something we never expected to hear.
Annaliese Puccini had a rather unfortunate incident with some bumper cars as a child and clearly has never gotten over the scarring experience.
During a group date on Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s season of The Bachelor, the girls were expected to take part in a demolition derby.
Annaliese had a tearful meltdown about her bumper car trauma, telling the camera, “I just remember getting trapped in the middle, and I was crying and hating it.”
She went on to explain how alone and scared she felt — in a bumper car.
2. Jordan Kimball throws a stuffed dog in the water
“It’s a big dog, and I just drug its a** across the beach, so maybe I’m a bigger dog.”
That’s something we never thought we would hear on Bachelor in Paradise, especially considering it was said about an actual stuffed dog.
On Season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise, Jordan Kimball (the guy with the golden underwear from Becca Kufrin’s season) got extremely jealous when David gave his love interest, Jenna Cooper, a giant stuffed dog for her birthday.
Jordan proceeded to have a meltdown in which he threw the stuffed dog in the water, and it drowned.
Poor dog! He was just minding his own business; what was a stuffed dog to do?
Jordan went on a tirade, voicing his opinion of the other contestants to the camera, all while wearing a floral suit. It was… weird.
3. Jason Mesnick cries after dumping Molly Malaney
The most tears that have ever been cried in Bachelor history came from Jason Mesnick. However, his was all in one go, while Ashley Iaconetti still beats him in the cumulative tears category.
Jason sent home Molly Malaney during The Bachelor finale, and from the second the car took her away, he absolutely lost it.
Jason hung his head over a balcony as if he was Rose in Titanic. Tears gushed out of his face like a tsunami that just wouldn’t quit.
It was the ugly kind of cry that you only do in the privacy of your own pillow.
Of course, Jason later broke up with Melissa Rycroft live on After the Final Rose to go back to Molly. At least the tears weren’t wasted!
4. Colton Underwood jumps a fence
It’s safe to say Colton Underwood was suuuuper into Cassie Randolph and when she eliminated herself while it was down to the Final 3, he flipped out.
Or rather jumped out.
Colton was devastated, meaning producers were following him like mosquitos out for blood. What was he to do? The fence jump was probably his only option at the time, and he did get a pretty cool book cover from it.
In any case, it was the fence jump seen around the world, and women were asking their boyfriends why they had never jumped a fence for them.
Because, what’s more romantic than that? Certainly not chocolate or flowers. Perhaps Colton should just boil her bunny on the stove next time; it seems easier.
5. Chad Johnson yelling at Chris Harrison
There is one thing in Bachelor Nation that is untouchable: the hotel rooms the night after fantasy suites.
Kidding! (Kind of.)
Actually, it’s Chris Harrison. He will forever be The Bachelor franchise golden boy, even before Ben Higgins.
When Chad Johnson and his aggressive ways stormed on to the reality television set, there was negativity in the air. Poor Evan Bass even got his shirt ripped, and Chad probably never paid for it.
When Chad appeared on Bachelor in Paradise, he was a bomb waiting to go off, and he unleashed his anger on the beach crabs and Chris Harrison.
He was even seen later, wearing a t-shirt with the infamous phrase, “f**k you Chris Harrison!”
6. Blake Horstmann gets dumped by Becca Kufrin
Before Blake Horstmann became the Stagecoach f**kboy of Bachelor in Paradise, he was just a nice guy looking for love on Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette.
But, unfortunately for Blake, he was ceremoniously dumped on the beach and was left in a sobbing, sweating mess.
We’ve seen runner-ups cry before, but this was on another level; Blake looked absolutely devastated. Viewers were on the edge of their seats, terrified his sweat would mix with tears, and burn his eyeballs.
Perhaps producers could have allowed him to wear something lighter than a suit?
A white linen shirt, maybe?
It was one of the saddest and sweatiest meltdowns we’ve seen in Bachelor franchise history.
7. Olivia Caridi’s showgirl routine
Olivia Caridi was cast as the villain on Ben Higgins’ season of The Bachelor.
During an embarrassing group date, the girls were asked to participate in a talent show in Las Vegas, and poor Olivia claimed she had no talent.
Rather than take the easy route and fake sick or faint, Olivia put on a showgirl costume, jumped out of a cake, and awkwardly strutted around the stage.
Afterward, she was understandably embarrassed and had a meltdown backstage.
At least it was less of a meltdown than when she cried about her cankles.
8. John Paul Jones picks a fight with Derek Peth
John Paul Jones, or Prince Charming from Shrek, is one of the more memorable characters from The Bachelor franchise.
He was never considered a serious contender and appeared to be added fluff by Bachelor producers. That’s exactly the kind of Bachelor in Paradise contestant that viewers love.
Clearly wanting to make a name for himself, most likely on Instagram, John Paul Jones picked a fight with Derek Peth.
John discussed the issue with other contestants first, in the kind of voice most people save for lecturing teenagers after they’ve stayed out too late. When he had finally hyped himself up, he confronted Derek with a list of wrongdoings.
In our favorite moment of this meltdown, JPJ said the infamous phrase, “Don’t insult my intelligence DEREK.”
9. Ashley Iaconetti gets dumped by Chris Soules
Ashley Iaconetti is famous in Bachelor Nation for her tear-filled meltdowns, and when Chris Soules dumped her, it was one of the first.
Ashley was up against Kelsey Poe (the one with the “amazing story”) on a two-on-one date that was eerily silent in many moments.
The most surprising aspect of the whole conversation was that Ashley’s fake eyelashes managed to hold on for so long! She should give Becca Kufrin a recommendation.
Ashley walked away from Chris, clearly in need of some nose spray.
She and Kelsey were left in the middle of nowhere as Chris flew off in a helicopter.
10. Kelsey Poe has a panic attack
Kelsey Poe was one of the creepiest villains to appear on The Bachelor. Her “amazing story” about her dead husband was utterly strange and left many viewers feeling uncomfortable.
But, before all this, Kelsey was using another tactic to get attention from Chris Soules. She pulled the ole’ panic attack/fainting spell that always gets some one-on-one time with a lead.
Unfortunately for Kelsey and her obvious desire to be the next Bachelorette, she was a terrible actress. Her panic attack involved a lot of fake breathing, and she had to have been using eye drops when she talked about her husband.
The panic attack clearly rubbed the other girls the wrong way. Actually, pretty much everything Kelsey said didn’t endear her to anyone.