Some contestants make a self-exit because they want to pursue love with others, while some others decide to remove themselves from the competition for a touching reason.
- Jan 24, 2021
AceShowbiz - "The Bachelor" franchise is no stranger in offering drama, including contestants deciding to back off from the competition. Sarah Trott did the same in the latest episode of Matt James' season of "The Bachelor" but obviously she wasn't the first who dramatically self-eliminated herself on the ABC dating competition franchise.
Some contestants decided to leave the show voluntarily after beefing with the leading lady or the leading man. Others made a self-exit because they wanted to pursue love with others, while some of the contestants removed themselves from the competition for a touching reason.
Here are some dramatic self-eliminations throughout the seasons of "The Bachelor", "The Bachelorette" and its spin-off series.
1. Heather Martin
Heather Martin was so close to winning Colton Underwood's heart when she had a change of heart and decided to self-eliminate herself when appearing in season 23 of "The Bachelor". Just prior to the hometown dates, Heather felt she wasn't comfortable introducing him to her family at hometown dates.
She decided to leave during a group date and rode away in a train, marking the third contestant in a row to voluntarily exit Colton's season. Ironically, Heather crashed Matt James' season this year, much to everyone's surprise.
2. Luke Stone
Tension among contestants was unavoidable on the franchise but the feud between Luke Stone and Luke Parker from Hannah Brown's season on "The Bachelorette" was probably the biggest one. They got into an altercation on the rugby field as Luke Stone accused the other of throwing him to the ground for no reason.
Further making it complicated, Luke Parker told Hannah that Luke Stone wasn't there for the right reasons. That was apparently the last straw for Luke Stone as she then pulled Hannah aside right before a rose ceremony to tell him that he had no longer intention to stay in the competition.
3. Jacqueline Trumbull
Jacqueline Trumbull was among the ladies who were competing for Arie Luyendyk's heart in his season of "The Bachelor". However, as soon as she realized that their futures weren't aligned, the 26-year-old research coordinator decided to remove herself from the competition.
She told Arie that she planned to attend grad school and the thought of ending up in Scottsdale with Arie would make that hard. "I think I had this moment of doubt on our date. There have been these swirling doubts since then, and I'm worried I'm going to end up in Scottsdale with you, married wondering how did we get here, because we didn't have the base or foundation," she said. "I just know there are women here who are completely confident, and I don't know how to stay when that's the case."
4. Brendan Morais
Brendan Morais failed to move on from his past despite having a strong connection with "The Bachelorette" star Tayshia Adams as they bonded being young divorcees. He even convinced Tayshia and that he could be "the one" for him, enough for her to keep him until the finale.
However, when the two visited famed ring designer Neil Lane for their possible engagament ring, Brendan looked visibly nervous. He also admitted that he was unable to "give all of himself" to Tayshia and their relationship. He left the show, breaking Tayshia's heart into pieces.
5. Jason Foster
Clare Crawley's season of "The Bachelorette" was indeed one of a kind. She exited the show only after five episodes as she found love in now-ex Dale Moss. Tayshia Adams then stepped in to replace her, but apparently Jason Foster wasn't in for the change.
Jason, who had a one-on-one with Clare, was too attached to Clare and claimed that he was in love with her. He couldn't easily erase his feelings for her to start pining over Tayshia. After a day-long contemplation, Jason decided to leave the show.
6. Danielle Maltby
Danielle Maltby left "Bachelor in Paradise" season 4 in 2017, but no one could be mad to her. The nurse left the show for the most honorable reason, which was to provide medical care for children in Kenya.
Danielle, who used to appear in Nick Viall's season of "The Bachelor", didn't seem to be feeling herself on "Bachelor in Paradise". When she was given the opportunity to work as a pediatric nurse in Kenya for a few weeks, she quickly chose to grab it and leave the show. Wells Adams, the show's bartender and former star, walked her out and dramatically kissed her, saying, "If anyone deserved to find someone here, it was you."
7. Brady Toops
Brady Toops was among the suitors for Kaitlyn Bristowe in her season of "The Bachelorette". However, he decided to leave the show to pursue a relationship with "Bachelorette" hopeful Britt Nilsson. The Los Angeles-based waitress and the musician from Tennessee did date for a few weeks after he exited the show before calling it quits.
"Everything on paper was perfect. But we didn't have that connection I was looking for. That was a hard conclusion," Britt told PEOPLE at the time. "That was pretty painful for us both, actually. It was the weirdest situation. I've never had to watch an expired relationship play out on TV!"
8. Kenny King
Something was bothering wrestler Kenny King when he appeared in Lindsay Rachel's season of "The Bachelorette". The athlete admitted that he missed his daughter so much that he decided to remove himself from the show. "There's nothing that calls you to question more what you're doing than being away from your child," he said.
He then approached Lindsay to reveal his feelings. "I'm just not necessarily 100 percent comfortable in where we're at. I just don't know if our relationship has grown in the ways I would have liked it to have grown," he told her. Lindsay understood him and she sent him home after bidding farewell with a warm hug.
9. Ian Thomson
Ian Thomson left Kaitlyn Bristowe's "The Bachelorette" season 11, not before he insulted her. He left the show after accusing the Bachelorette of being on the show to "make out with dudes on TV." He also called her a "surface-level person."
The L.A.-based executive recruiter, however, appeared to show remorse on "Men Tell All" special. "I'm sorry to America, and I'm sorry to people in the audience that were offended by things that I said, because that's not a representation of who I am. And I'm really sorry and I really apologize," he said.
10. Cassie Randolph
Cassie Randolph was in huge dilemma when she was in Colton Underwood's season of "The Bachelor". Prior to the Fantasy Suites, Cassie, who had been saying that she wasn't ready for marriage, was trying to figure out she was actually in love with Colton or not. Her father later came from Portugal, telling her that he hadn't given Colton his blessing and that was when her decision was made.
Colton tried to convince Cassie to stay but it was to no avail. He was so upset that he hopped over a fence for some time to think about his next move. They ended up being together for some time before ending their relationship in a nasty split. Cassie accused Colton of stalking and harrassment.
11. Ben Higgins
Ben Higgins was among the cast of "Bachelor Winter Games" back in 2018. However, it appeared that he wasn't ready for a new relationship following his split from Lauren Bushnell.
"My fear is not entering into a relationship," Ben told host Chris Harrison. "My fear is not [of] pursuing somebody. My fear is that if I was to be broken again, I'm not full enough right now to recover from that."
12. Madison Prewett
Madison Prewett made an unpredecented move during the finale of Peter Weber's season of "The Bachelor". After giving Peter an ultimatum for "being intimate" with other women during Fantasy Suites in addition to a disastrous meeting with the Weber family in the Australia outback, she was walking away, leaving Peter with just one contestant.
Eventually, Peter proposed to the only remaining finalist, Hannah Ann, though he broke it off with her after some weeks, telling her that his heart was split into two. After he ended his engagement to Hannah, he met up with Madison and they decided to start anew.
