I don’t scare easily, at least, when it comes to movies and TV shows I don’t. I think it’s because of all the Dateline I watch. However, the other night, I stumbled across a television show that was so horrifically terrifying, it has since haunted my dreams.
And that show was The Bachelorette.
Once an avid watcher of The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise, I used to tune in religiously, anxiously awaiting each season finale to see who would get the final rose. Yet, as the contestants became more and more fame hungry and I witnessed one broken engagement of the winning couples after another, my enthusiasm faded and I tuned into more quality programming that displayed real love stories, like Flavor of Love and 90 Day Fiancé. (Don’t judge me.)
But, as one often experiences in the early months of summer, as regular television series come to an end and alternative programming begins, primetime TV is extremely limited and one is forced to watch whatever the heck is on. (Yes, forced. Seriously, stop judging me!)
Season 13 of The Bachelorette debuted on May 22, 2017, just mere days after Ben Higgins, (Bachelor, Season 20), announced his split from show fiancé, Lauren Bushnell, and Chris Soules, (Bachelor, Season 19), was denied by a judge to dismiss felony charges brought against him in a fatal car crash. These two incidents nearly overshadowed the show’s most recent victim…err, Bachelorette, Rachel Lindsay, a 31-year-old attorney from Texas who was third runner up in Nick Viall’s season, (Bachelor, Season 21). Even though I consider all the runner ups in Nick’s season to be winners, ABC took it a step further with Rachel, not only naming her the next Bachelorette, but also making her the first African American contestant in the franchise’s 15-year history. (Yes, you read that correctly – 15 years! Welcome to the 21st Century, ABC!)
Unlike most of the Bachelor/Bachelorettes, I like Rachel. She’s beautiful, intelligent, articulate, polite, and seems to have a good sense of humor. She appears to be normal, which is probably a huge red flag, as she does have one major flaw…she’s appearing on this show!
Rachel got a preview of potential suitors on last season’s After the Final Rose. After taking one look at the candidates, I would have been running for the hills. But, Rachel stayed put, excited to see if her Prince Charming was in the room.
And that is where this Cinderella horror story begins.
