Since Season 17 of "The Bachelorette" started airing,
everyone has been snooping through the Instagram accounts of Katie Thurston's cast and taking note of the men who stick out.
Greg Grippo, a 28-year-old from Edison, New Jersey,
is one guy who caught the attention of many fans right from the start for all the right reasons.
Floppy hair aside, Greg is a marketing sales representative. He earned his business
administration and management degree in 2018 from Saint Michael's College,
where he was apparently quite the ladies' man, per Cosmopolitan. According to his ABC bio,
"Greg is the full package. He's handsome, kind, vulnerable
and serious about wanting to settle down. Greg considers himself a hopeless romantic,
and a perfect first date would be something active like riding bikes, dancing or going to a concert."
Though he is on the younger side, Greg also seems to be very comfortable with the idea of marriage.
His ABC bio even mentions that he wants to have at least six kids.
As it turns out, this wasn't the first time that Greg Grippo auditioned for "The Bachelorette."
In July 2020, Reality Steve tweeted that Greg was one of 15 guys
cut from Clare Crawley's season. The reason behind this decision was unclear,
though it certainly gave Greg the opportunity to try out again for Season 17.
It's undeniable that Greg made quite the impression on "The Bachelorette,"
even snagging Katie Thurston's first impression rose. It seemed
that viewers were fully on board with Katie's pick, with one person tweeting,
"I KNEW HE WOULD WHEN I SAW HIM."
"I mean it's Greg, I see Greg on that."
"It's Greg."
Unlike many "Bachelorette" cast members, Greg has kept his Instagram account active since becoming
a contestant on the show, and has even posted a handful of photos since the series started airing.
Sadly, not every contestant goes on "The Bachelorette" looking for love. Certain types
go on the show to advance their fledgling careers, and according to several reports,
Greg Grippo might just be one of them. For instance,
the New Jersey native attended the prestigious William Esper Acting School from 2017 to 2019,
according to a hot tip sent in to infamous gossip account Deux Moi. According to the source,
"[Greg] cleaned up his social media/LinkedIn
and removed all evidence of his aspiring acting career."
Elsewhere, an insider told The Sun,
"Greg is an actor [...] [it's] always been his passion."
The source continued,
"He is absolutely lying about his career and intentions on the show.
He's always wanted to pursue an on-camera career."
Allegedly having attended school with Greg, the source revealed he spoke constantly about fame,
almost as though he was trying to prove something to everybody.
Solidifying Deux Moi's account, the source told The Sun,
"[Greg] has told friends not to mention [acting] if anyone asks
about it. And he's untagged himself from all of his classmates' photos."
If the reality star wasn't competing for all the wrong reasons, he sure has a weird way of showing it.
In fact, Greg's allegedly dodgy intentions with Katie were a hot topic of discussion once
again following the couple's dramatic breakup, which occurred after she met his family, when
the "Bachelorette" star refused to essentially be bullied into confessing her undying love for the man.
It was a hugely explosive and confusing moment, and the whole situation left many fans
convinced Greg was putting on a show to ensure Thurston gave him the final rose. She even logged
off Twitter right before the scenes aired, before sharing a notable post to her Instagram Stories
about gaslighting. Online fans pointed out that nobody should be forced into saying or
doing anything they don't want to do, even suggesting that Greg's oversized reaction
meant the relationship was doomed to fail since Katie clearly couldn't match his enthusiasm.
In fact, the "Bachelorette" lead was so distraught by Greg's reaction that she threatened to leave the show herself.
This seems to confirm the idea that Greg was allegedly only in it for the fame,
because he was willing to push Katie beyond her limit to win. As a source told The Sun,
"His goal was always,
always, always fame. He's been trying to get on 'The Bachelorette' literally for years."
Describing Greg as a "schemer," the insider expressed disgust
over everybody seemingly falling for the New Jersey native's nice guy act.
After his blow-up, however, it appears the mask has definitely slipped.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus,
even more List videos about your favorite reality stars are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.