The Bachelor's Victoria Paul Opens About Mental Health Struggles

With all the men and women who come and go on "The Bachelor" and "Bachelorette," it's hard to keep them straight sometimes. However, some contestants on the show are simply too memorable to forget. One of those people is Victoria Paul. Viewers first met Paul when she appeared on Peter Weber's season of "The Bachelor," per Women's Health. During her time on the show, she revealed that she was named Miss Louisiana USA 2019, but fans quickly realized that she was much more than just a pageant queen. Paul eventually opened up to Weber about her childhood struggles, admitting that she lived with a mother who was an addict and that she had even been homeless as a child, confessing that she had previously lived in a homeless shelter and struggled to find food at times.

Despite opening up to Weber, Paul was eliminated from the show in week six after Weber admitted that he didn't see her as his future wife (via Hollywood Life). "This is the last conversation that we are going to have. This is not love and that really sucks," Paul told Weber before exiting the series.

Following her stint on "The Bachelor," things weren't easy for Paul, who opened up about post-reality TV life during an interview earlier this year.

Former "Bachelor" contestant Victoria Paul, 28, recently opened up about her mental health and spoke openly about her experience with reality television during an episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast (via People). Paul admitted that her mental health was at "an all-time low" after gaining attention on Peter Weber's season of the franchise.

"Being thrown into the space where people are questioning your character and coming at you — and online, people aren't kind. I'm from a small town where I've never really had to deal with a lot of that," Paul told podcast hosts Becca Kufrin and Tia Booth. "I really struggled on the show and off the show. There was a point where I really had to lean on the people in my life to help me get through it, and I had to see someone in regards to my mental health because I did not want to live anymore," she admitted.

Paul went on to confess that the time in her life was "really hard to go through," but that she has gotten professional help in order to deal with her problems head-on. "I've since gotten therapy, and I have this toolbox, and I have the ability to work through things I had no idea how to work through before," she stated. Thankfully, Paul knew it was time to get help and now has the skills she needs to overcome her issues.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.