All the Bachelor Scandals Through the Years

Garrett Yrigoyen’s Social Media History, Exposed

After that horrifying on-air breakup with Arie Luyendyk Jr., everyone was rooting for Becca Kufrin to find her fairy tale. So when handsome suitor Garrett Yrigoyen won Kufrin's coveted first-impression rose, fans thought perhaps the happily-ever-after was closer than ever. (And, hey, it still could be.)

But it became readily apparent Yrigoyen was no Prince Charming. The Bachelorette contestant came under fire when it was discovered that he had an extremely questionable social media history — he had a habit of liking offensive posts, ranging from memes mocking transgender people to posts about the Parkland shooting survivors and immigrants. 

Although Yrigoyen deleted his original account and created a new one to apologize from, the damage to his public perception had already been done. 

Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s Brutal Breakup With Becca Kufrin

Ouch. Becca Kufrin may have gotten redemption by being tapped to be the new Bachelorette, but this breakup will go down in Bachelor history as one of the most cringeworthy. 

Basically, Luyendyk changed his mind — but he handled the situation in the worst possible way. After sitting down with his "runner-up," Lauren Burnham, Luyendyk decided he was going to end his brand-new engagement with Kufrin to pursue Burnham. Then, under the guise of spending time together, he met up with Kufrin and broke her heart with the cameras rolling. 

So, yeah, ouch. 

DeMario Jackson’s Double Drama

Prior to his appearance on Bachelor in Paradise, DeMario Jackson already had a reputation as a bad boy. On Rachel Lindsay's season of The Bachelorette, Jackson proved to be an early frontrunner… until, that is, his real-life girlfriend (he swears she was just a side piece) showed up during a competition date and laid all his lies bare. 

It's not surprising, then, that he wasn't on the steadiest footing with fans when he joined the Bachelor in Paradise cast. However, no one could have expected what would transpire. After connecting right away with Corinne Olympios, Jackson found himself embroiled in arguably the biggest scandal of BiP history. 

Production was shut down at one point in the season when a producer claimed Olympios was too drunk to consent to the sexual activity she and Jackson engaged in while swimming in a pool. Things got even murkier when Olympios claimed she was "blackout drunk" during the incident. However, the pair was later spotted together socially, and ultimately, Jackson was cleared of any wrongdoing. 

Joe Bailey’s Bait & Switch

Joe Bailey had so much potential when he appeared on Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of The Bachelorette — until she broke up with him in Week 7 and he kind of became a raging jerk. Still, he was hurt, so fans were willing to cut him some slack. 

But then he showed up on the second season of Bachelor in Paradise. There, he hooked up with sweet single mom Juelia Kinney in order to secure a rose and stick around long enough for Samantha Steffen to show up. In addition to talking trash about Kinney's intelligence and her kissing ability, Bailey straight-up ditched Kinney for Steffen. 

Even worse? It was later revealed that Bailey and Steffen had been communicating for months prior and planned out their rendezvous in Paradise. The joke's on him, though, because things quickly fizzled out with Steffen. And Kinney just got engaged! 

Nick Viall’s Sexual Escapades

It's one thing to have a run-in with an ex at, say, the supermarket. Can you imagine them showing up on a live TV show in which you're trying to find your future spouse? Nick Viall knows the feeling all too well. 

While Liz Sandoz wasn't exactly a former girlfriend, the two did know each other intimately. She would admit in the camera confessional (and later to another contestant) that she and Viall actually had sex when they both attended the wedding of Bachelor Nation couple Jade Roper and Tanner Tolbert. So when she showed up on Viall's season to vie for his heart, it was awk-ward! And as soon as other contestants found out about the past history, Viall sent Sandoz packing. 

Of course, that whole debacle doesn't hold a candle to the situation Viall found himself in on Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of The Bachelorette. In a then-unprecedented move for the franchise, Bristowe and Viall had sex — and it wasn't on a fantasy date. 

Evan Bass’ Hospital Visit

Contestants are known to do crazy things on Bachelor in Paradise, but Evan Bass took it to the next level while trying to get Carly Waddell's attention. The two had been casually hooking up when Bass could sense things were starting to go south. In fact, Waddell had admitted in the camera confessionals that she was ready to call things off with Bass. 

Before she got the chance, though, Bass started feeling strange. He'd apparently mixed some sort of medication with alcohol, a combination which led to producers having trouble waking him up. Long story short, they called a medic and Bass wound up in the local hospital. But when he laughed off the whole situation, everyone (including Waddell) was left wondering whether Bass had faked his medical emergency. 

Either way, it worked. Today, Waddell and Bass are married and have a beautiful baby girl. 

Kaitlyn Bristowe & Shawn Booth’s Snapchat Snafu

It's no surprise that ABC does their best to shroud the finale of each Bachelor family show in secrecy. The entire premise of the show is built on the surprise of finding out who gets "picked." Despite their best efforts, though, ABC couldn't stop Kaitlyn Bristowe and Shawn Booth's Snapchatgate. 

Just shy of Bristowe's season finale, a Snapchat photo emerged of Bristowe and Booth in bed together. Clearly, these two were a couple. As it turns out, they were enjoying a secret getaway during their mandated quiet time prior to the big reveal, and they decided to send a few Snaps to the show's producers. 

Only, oopsie, Bristowe publicly Snapchatted the photos. When they realized what had happened, Booth started hyperventilating. And in an interview with E! News after the fact, Bristowe said, "We felt really, really bad." 

Michelle Kujawa’s Affair

Although it's not totally unheard of for a contestant on the show to form romantic feelings for a member of the crew, Michelle Kujawa’s secret liaisons with a producer became major tabloid fodder — for good reason. Considering Kujawa was known as the teary girl from Jake Pavelka's season of The Bachelor, no one imagined she'd wind up in the biggest scandal on her season of Bachelor in Paradise.

After she unexpectedly withdrew herself from the competition, she got caught up in a relationship with one of the show's sound guys. When a producer came to talk to her about the situation, the guy jumped off the balcony of her room and broke both his feet! 

Chris Soules’ Shocking Arrest

In one of Bachelor Nation's most heartbreaking scandals, down-home Iowa farmer Chris Soules was arrested after rear-ending a tractor with his pickup truck. The driver of the tractor, a 66-year-old man, died at the scene. 

Although Soules did perform CPR and alert 911 of the accident, he left the scene before emergency services arrived. It was initially suspected that Soules was driving under the influence at the time, but toxicology reports later indicated that he had no detectable amounts of alcohol or drugs in his system. 

Charges are still pending against Soules, but they are for leaving the scene of a fatal accident. If convicted, Soules could face up to five years in prison.

Jason Mesnick’s Change of Heart

Bachelor Nation's Arie Luyendyk Jr. caught the heat most recently for flip-flopping on his future bride, but he wasn't the first Bachelor to do so. Nearly a decade ago, Jason Mesnick got down on one knee and proposed to then-NFL cheerleader Melissa Rycroft. His runner-up, Molly Malaney, memorably told him, "I think you're making a mistake." 

Well, fast-forward to after the finale when Mesnick admitted to Chris Harrison that he did make a mistake. Then, in a live special, he broke things off with an understandably angry Rycroft before declaring his love for Malaney. 

As they say, though, all's well that ends well. Malaney and Mesnick got married and have a daughter together. As for Rycroft, she got her happy ending too — she married former boyfriend Tye Strickland and the couple has three kids. 

Lincoln Adim’s Indecent Assault Charges

When it comes to having skeletons in the closet, it's likely no contestant will ever be on the same level as Lincoln Adim (and we hope that's true). The seemingly charming suitor on Becca Kufrin's series was hiding a dark secret. 

Several weeks into the airing of Kufrin's season, news broke that Adim had been convicted of indecent assault and battery stemming from an incident that occurred in 2016. At the time of the revelation, Adim was still in contention on the show. 

Not surprisingly, Adim did not make the final cut with Kufrin. And since the initial story broke, more details have surfaced. According to TMZ, a law enforcement source claims Adim grabbed a woman's hands while aboard a cruise and placed them on his body. He then allegedly groped the woman's breasts and grinded on her. 

Chad Johnson’s Blackout (& Kick-Out) on ‘BiP’

Some things simply don't go together, and it would seem reality TV and Chad Johnson fall under that umbrella. The former military man first earned his reputation as a villain on JoJo Fletcher's season of The Bachelorette, and it only went downhill from there.

After going on to appear on Bachelor in Paradise, Johnson proved he could get even more dastardly. In fact, Johnson didn't even make it through the season three premiere without being kicked off of the show. 

After getting sloppy drunk and making out in a hot tub with Lace Morris, Johnson became aggressive and out of control. In addition to calling Morris a bitch, calling contestant Sarah Herron a "one-armed bitch," destroying things on set and threatening to murder everyone on set, Johnson got the boot.