Awkward Bachelorette Moments That Were Caught On Camera
As if 30 men vying for one woman isn't awkward enough, throwing in drama, chaos, and cameras is guaranteed to make things extra embarrassing. "The Bachelorette" first aired in 2003 with Trista Sutter as the star, tasked with the responsibility of choosing a husband from a sea of men. She ultimately gave the Final Rose to her now-husband, Ryan Sutter.
Fast-forward to 2022, and there's two bachelorettes in one season: Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia — the first full-time co-leads in "Bachelorette" history, per People – both from Clayton Echard's "Bachelor" season. Widney told the magazine she wouldn't let petty drama stand in the way of her friendship with Recchia. "If you pay attention to Rachel and I, of course, it is hard for us. But I think our sisterhood is something so special that nobody's seen before," Windey said. But of course, that doesn't mean their season isn't as chock-full of awkward moments as "Bachelorette" seasons past.
From a "cringeworthy" first kiss between Windey and a contestant this season to a major meltdown by alum Ashley Hebert after a roasting ceremony gone wrong, here are the top awkward "Bachelorette" moments that were caught on camera.
One of Ali Fedotowsky's suitors got a tattoo in her honor
Ali Fedotowsky received the ultimate sign of commitment from one of her suitors — a permanent tattoo. During Season 6 of "The Bachelorette," Kasey Kahl was inspired to get a tattoo after going on a date with Fedotowsky in New York City, per Bachelor Nation. In a deleted scene shared by ABC, cameras followed Kahl as he got a wrist tattoo of a heart protected by a shield. The shield symbolized him as a protector of her heart.
Following his "Bachelorette" stunt, Kahl told Us Weekly that he didn't regret getting the tattoo. "I got it to show that I was genuine and sincere about who I am," he said, adding, "It doesn't necessarily mean that that works for Ali."
Ten years later, in a 2020 interview, Kahl showed franchise host Chris Harrison that he still has the famous tattoo. "It's crazy that that got so much, you know, notoriety from a tattoo," he said, adding that "Bachelorette" fans have stopped him on the streets to see the famous ink. Since that fated tattoo day, Kahl has since added his anniversary date with his wife, Amanda Waters.
Ashley Hebert was brought to tears after roast gone bad
What started off as an innocent roast of Ashley Hebert ended up with the Season 7 Bachelorette in tears. One of the group dates involved Hebert's suitors roasting her in front of a live audience — and it would be an understatement to say they hit a nerve.
At first, Hebert seemed excited for the roast, telling cameras: "You know, with every statement that's made there's probably gonna be an ounce of truth, so maybe I'll learn something about some of the guys." She learned more than she wanted to know. While some of the suitors played it safe and chose to insult the other guys, a few decided to hit Hebert below the belt. Nick Peterson targeted Hebert's breasts, saying, "You're actually the first girl I ever dated with a smaller chest than me."
William Holman hit a bigger nerve when he referred to Hebert's unsuccessful stint on "The Bachelor," vying for Brad Womack's heart. "They say one man's trash is another man's treasure," he said, adding that he expected another one of the top women to be the season's Bachelorette instead of Hebert. While Hebert kept her cool on stage, she sobbed backstage when the show concluded.
Desiree Hartsock had her heart broken on national TV
Season 9 Bachelorette Desiree Hartsock had one of the most awkward breakups in the history of the female-driven franchise. Towards the end of the season, her top contestant Brooks Forester tells Hartsock that he isn't in love with her, as seen in a video clip from ABC. "I really want to be madly in love with you," he said as they sat at a bench on the dock of a lake. A clearly uncomfortable Brooks tried to console a crying Hartsock, hugging her and apologizing.
According to Us Weekly, Forester took himself out of the competition after making the final three. Later, in a memoir called "The Road to Roses," Hartsock said she confused the suitor's "compliments" with "communication." "I think that's just because I didn't grow up with communicative family and, like, if someone says something nice, I was like, 'Oh, they really like me,'" she said about Forester.
While the televised breakup was difficult to live through, Hartsock found her happy ending with one of the top two suitors, Chris Siegfried, and got engaged in the finale (via People).
Andi Dorfman got called out by Nick Viall for sleeping with him
Andi Dorfman ultimately chose Josh Murray over Nick Viall during the 10th season of "The Bachelorette," and by doing so, had some pretty intimate details shared without her consent. During the "After the Final Rose" episode, where Dorfman came face-to-face with Viall for the first time since she dumped him, Viall disclosed that Dorfman slept with him, as seen in a clip of the episode shared by ET. "If you weren't in love with me, I...," he paused, before telling Dorfman — and Bachelor Nation — "I'm not sure why you made love with me."
Dorfman didn't hold back, saying, "First of all, I think that's kind of below-the-belt and that's something that should be private and kept private." Even though they didn't ride off into the sunset together, People reported they were spotted together in Los Angeles in 2020, so it seemed all was well. It also fueled romance rumors, but a source quickly squashed them.
"Andi and Nick are friends," the source told People, adding, "She just moved to LA so they met up for a run."
Two potential Bachelorettes had to compete against each other
Before Season 19 and its two bachelorettes, Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia, there were Kaitlyn Bristowe and Britt Nilsson. Instead of competing full-time on "The Bachelorette" with the same group of men, however, Bristowe and Nilsson were both introduced as the potential stars of Season 11 during the finale of "The Bachelor" (via ET). Their potential suitors voted on who got to wear the Bachelorette title, ultimately giving the role to Bristowe (per Us Weekly). Ahead of the season premiere of "The Bachelorette," both Bristowe and Nilsson attended a press conference, and each shared her own side of the story, which involved a lot of apprehension.
"It was definitely unexpected, and I was shocked," Bristowe said upon hearing news that she was up against Nilsson in such a public way, adding, "I was kind of just beside myself because I didn't know what to think. I wasn't excited about it, but I just really had to take a step back and think of the light at the end of the tunnel."
Nilsson seconded that, adding, "It's just a wild situation. It was wild. It was fun, but yes, there were awkward moments, of course" (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Rachel Lindsay met the girlfriend of a potential suitor
Rachel Lindsay wanted to find love on the court as the Season 13 Bachelorette, but instead she found an awkward situation better left off the court. A woman named Lexi sat down with Lindsay ahead of her group date at a basketball court to confess she had been dating suitor DeMario Jackson (per ET).
"I wanted to talk to you. I was watching TV last week, and I saw that the first couple of guys came out to meet you, and I saw one guy came out with an engagement ring, and up until hours before that, he had been my boyfriend of seven months," she told Lindsay, adding, "He's lied to all of us, and he's really deceived everybody here, but he literally still has the keys to my apartment."
Lindsay confronted Jackson on the basketball court with the alleged girlfriend still there. Towards the end of the on-camera confrontation, Lindsay told Jackson, "I'm not here to be played, I'm not here to be made a joke of, which is what I feel like you're doing right now with me." Talk about awkward.
Hannah Brown got caught making out with potential suitors by the other guys -- twice
Season 15 Bachelorette Hannah Brown had some explaining to do after she was caught making out with two potential suitors on two separate occasions.
Before the rose ceremony, as Brown made her rounds to speak to her potential suitors, Luke Parker caught her attention with an intimate massage session in a private room away from the rest of the men, according to the clip posted by Bachelor Nation. The massage turned into a steamy make-out session, but things turned a turn for the awkward when suitor Jed Wyatt walked in on the two — just when Brown managed to take off Parker's shirt. Wyatt makes his presence known by saying, "What's going on?" The Brown and Parker awkwardly turned around, and Brown simply responded, "Massages, actually," while chuckling nervously.
On another occasion, Brown got caught by another suitor — this time, she was making out with Wyatt — except he didn't interrupt the two, and decided it was best to walk away. Brown was clearly living her best life during her time on "The Bachelorette," and wasn't shy of public displays of affection, but it definitely made for some awkward moments.
Clare Crawley abandoned a group date to hang out with Dale Moss
Clare Crawley had one suitor on her mind throughout her short "Bachelorette" season — Dale Moss. So it was no surprise when she ditched a group date with the rest of her suitors to spend one-on-one time with Moss.
Crawley invited Moss back to her room at the La Quinta Resort & Club, where the 16th season took place, as seen in a clip posted by Bachelor Nation. The two shared an embrace in bed and talked about their strong connection. At one point in the conversation, Crawley asked, "Why are you so perfect?" Moss told her he wasn't, and that she was perfect, and they proceeded to kiss. Cut to the men back at the group date sitting awkwardly together waiting for the bachelorette to arrive. One of the suitors asked: "Should we send out a search party for Dale?" The video then cut back to Moss and Crawley kissing in bed.
It was no surprise when Crawley left the show less than two weeks after filming with Moss by her side. He got down on one knee and proposed to Crawley before she ended her "Bachelorette" journey much sooner than expected.
Tayshia Adams walked off stage after addressing her breakup with Zac Clark
Tayshia Adams didn't get the fairytale ending she was hoping for when she signed on to be the Season 16 Bachelorette.
In the finale, she chose Zac Clark to be her future husband, and the two appeared ecstatic as he got down on one knee and proposed to her during the season finale, per People. All seemed well until the former Bachelorette and co-host appeared on the "The Bachelorette: Men Tell All" episode of Katie Thurston's season, and told the live audience that she was no longer with Clark — before proceeding to walk off the stage.
Here's how it all went down: Former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe, who served as co-host alongside Adams on Thurston's season, sat down with Adams on a couch on stage and pointed out that Adams wasn't wearing an engagement ring, as seen in a clip of the "Tell All" shared by the "The Bachelorette" Instagram account.
It seemed to many like a planned moment for Adams to address the breakup rumors that had been swirling about the relationship herself. "All I have to say is that I'm heartbroken, but we tried really hard and I still love him very much," Adams said. What didn't seem planned was her walking off-stage, leaving an awkward silence in her wake (via Entertainment Tonight).
Katie Thurston was invited to a suitor's lived-in RV
Katie Thurston had some pretty awkward moments during her run on "The Bachelorette" Season 17, including kissing a cat named Connor Brennan, as she recalled to Jimmy Kimmel. But the most awkward moment of the season was probably when Thurston was invited to a potential suitor's RV, which was parked outside the mansion on the first night of the season. The bachelorette quickly realized RV life wasn't for her.
In a clip posted by Bachelor Nation on ABC, Thurston followed Jeff Caravello as they made their way to the RV. At that moment, Caravello said something that would make anyone want to run away: "Normally you shouldn't go in vans with strangers, but, you know, tonight is a little different." Thurston chuckled nervously and replied, "Let's hope."
When they entered the RV, Jeff gave her a tour of his "lived in" RV, as Thurston described it. Though Caravello thought Thurston was loving it, the bachelorette was awkwardly trying to get away as he moved his dirty boxers aside to make room for her to sit, telling the camera: "Unfortunately, I just wasn't feeling the vibes with the RV." We guess RV life isn't for everyone.
Michelle Young had to call the guys out to get attention
Season 18 Bachelorette Michelle Young thought she could naturally attract the attention of the men vying for her heart, but soon learned, you have to ask for what you want, even if it's awkward.
During a group date, Young sat down with her group of men to have a heart-to-heart, as seen in a video clip shared by Bachelor Nation on ABC. It seemed the men were having so much fun during the sleepover-themed date that they didn't even try to talk to Young. Her feelings only grew stronger when it was announced there would be a teddy bear fight. "I'm upset," Young told the camera, adding, "Now that the boys are going to be competing against each other instead of making small moments with me during the group date" (per Us Weekly).
In the video clip shared by Bachelor Nation, things got uncomfortable when Young sat down with the group, and shared how she felt ignored. "I feel like I'm putting in so much effort to make small moments with you guys, but I don't necessarily feel like that's being reciprocated," she said. She went on to say that she just wanted to be seen and acknowledged.
Gabby Windey shared a cringeworthy kiss with a potential suitor
It's difficult not to kiss and tell when you have cameras following your every move. Gabby Windey, one of Season 19's Bachelorettes, learned the hard way when an on-air kiss was found less than romantic by Bachelor Nation (per Yahoo! Entertainment).
The awkward first kiss between Windey and potential suitor Mario Vassall took place during the premiere episode of the season. The duo kissed on a couch after Vassall told her, "You look very beautiful," to which Windey responded, "You as well," with a chuckle. That's when he leaned in for a kiss. Afterward, Windey told him she was glad he kissed her and even gave him her first impression rose. While the Bachelorette enjoyed the kiss, and said Vassall is a good kisser, Bachelor Nation had some thoughts.
One Twitter user posted a video of the kiss and wrote: "Clayton hurt her to the point that she said this was good kissing." Another Twitter user wrote: "That was the MOST uncomfortable kiss I have ever seen on national television." At least Windey enjoyed it, which is really all that matters.