What hasn't happened on The Bachelorette? From cringey
first kisses and major meltdowns to big secrets revealed for the world to see,
here are the top awkward Bachelorette moments that were caught on camera.
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 Ali in New York City. In a deleted scene shared by ABC, cameras followed Kasey 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, Kasey told Us Weekly that he didn't regret getting the tattoo.
And ten years later, in a 2020 interview, Kasey showed franchise host Chris Harrison
that he still has it. He added that Bachelorette fans have stopped him
on the streets to see the famous ink. Since that fateful tattoo day,
Kasey has since added his anniversary date with his wife, Amanda Waters.
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 Ashley's suitors roasting
her in front of a live audience — and it would be an understatement to say they hit a nerve.
At first, Ashley seemed excited for the roast, but 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 Ashley
below the belt. Nick Peterson targeted Ashley's breasts, while William Holman hit a bigger nerve
when he referred to Ashley's unsuccessful stint on The Bachelor, vying for Brad Womack's heart.
He added that he expected another one of the top women to be the season's Bachelorette instead of
Ashley. While Ashley kept her cool on stage, she sobbed backstage when the show concluded.
Season 9 Bachelorette Desiree Hartsock had one of the most awkward breakups in
the history of the franchise. Towards the end of the season,
her top contestant Brooks Forester told Desiree that he wasn't in love with her.
"It's so annoying. It, like, follows me forever."
A clearly uncomfortable Brooks tried to console a crying Desiree, hugging her and apologizing.
According to Us Weekly, Brooks took himself out of the competition after making the final three.
Later, in a memoir called The Road to Roses,
Desiree said she confused the suitor's "compliments" with "communication."
While the televised breakup was difficult to live through, Desiree found her happy ending
with one of the top two suitors, Chris Siegfried, and got engaged in the finale.
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 Andi came face-to-face with Nick for the first time since she dumped him,
Nick disclosed that Andi slept with him. Andi 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.
Before Season 19 and its two bachelorettes, there were Kaitlyn Bristowe and Britt Nilsson.
Instead of competing full-time on The Bachelorette with the same group of men, however, Kaitlyn and
Britt were both introduced as the potential stars of Season 11 during the finale of The Bachelor.
Their potential suitors voted on who got to wear the Bachelorette title, ultimately giving the role
to Kaitlyn. Ahead of the season premiere of The Bachelorette, both Kaitlyn and Britt attended a
press conference, and each shared her own side of the story, which involved a lot of apprehension.
Upon hearing news that she was up against Britt in such a public way, Kaitlyn said,
"It was definitely unexpected, and I was shocked [...] 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."
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 Rachel ahead of her
group date at a basketball court to confess she had been dating suitor DeMario Jackson.
Rachel confronted DeMario on the basketball court with the alleged
girlfriend still there. Toward the end of the on-camera confrontation, Rachel told DeMario,
"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.
"Some of the things that I'm reading were just so nasty. Like,
the human race really failed me this past week."
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 Hannah 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.
The massage turned into a steamy make-out session, but things took a turn for the awkward when suitor
Jed Wyatt walked in on the two — just when Hannah managed to take off Luke's shirt.
On another occasion, Hannah got caught by another suitor — this time, she was making
out with Jed — except he didn't interrupt the two, and decided it was best to walk
away. Hannah 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 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 Dale.
Clare invited Dale back to her room. The two shared an embrace in bed and talked about
their strong connection. Dale told her 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. The video then cut back to Dale and Clare kissing in bed.
It was no surprise when Clare left the show less than two weeks after
filming with Moss by her side. He got down on one knee and proposed to Clare
before she ended her Bachelorette journey much sooner than expected.
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.
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 Zac — before proceeding to walk off the stage.
Here's how it all went down. Former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe, who served as co-host alongside
Tayshia on Katie's season, sat down with Tayshia on a couch on stage and pointed out that Tayshia
wasn't wearing an engagement ring. It seemed to many like a planned moment for Tayshia to
address the breakup rumors that had been swirling about the relationship herself.
What didn't seem planned was her walking off-stage, leaving an awkward silence in her wake.
"That day was really tough for me because that's actually the day that
the news kind of broke to everyone. So, it was just very heavy."
Katie Thurston had some pretty awkward moments during her run on The Bachelorette Season 17,
including kissing a cat named Connor Brennan. 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.
Katie followed Jeff Caravello as they made their way to the RV. When they entered,
Jeff gave her a tour of his "lived in" RV, as Katie described it. Though Jeff thought
Katie 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.
Season 18 Bachelorette Michelle Young thought she could naturally attract
the attention of the men vying for her heart. But as she soon learned,
you have to ask for what you want, even if it's awkward.
During a group date, Michelle sat down with her group of men to have a heart-to-heart.
It seemed the men were having so much fun during the sleepover-themed date that they didn't even
try to talk to Michelle. Her feelings only grew stronger when it was announced there would be
a teddy bear fight. Things got uncomfortable when Michelle sat down with the group, and
shared how she felt ignored. She went on to say that she just wanted to be seen and acknowledged.
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.
The awkward first kiss between Gabby and potential suitor Mario Vassall
took place during the premiere episode of the season. The duo kissed on a couch, and afterward,
Gabby told him she was glad he kissed her and even gave him her first impression rose. While the
Bachelorette enjoyed the kiss, and said Mario 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."
"You were assertive. Like you went for it. There was no hesitation. You like, beelined it."
Another Twitter user wrote:
"That was the MOST uncomfortable kiss I have ever seen on national television."
At least Gabby enjoyed it, which is really all that matters.