Whether it’s The Bachelor, The Bachelorette or Bachelor in Paradise, there is always one (or two) contestants that stand out during the season and become the “villain.”
It’s not necessarily a bad thing – the show would be boring without them – and it’s time to give them some recognition for their work.
Love them or hate them, they are all notorious in their own way. But were they there for “the wrong reasons?”
From the infamous Olivia to leading man Juan Pablo, let’s take a trip down memory lane and break it all down.
If we forgot your favorite, or you think someone else deserves to be #1, let us know in the comments.
Courtney Robertson (Ben Flajnik’s Season)
Courtney literally wrote the book on how to be a Bachelor villain. Seriously, it’s called “I Didn’t’ Come Here to Make Friends: Confessions of a Reality Show Villain.” During her season, Courtney took Ben skinny tipping, went topless and stole him away from the other girls on a daily basis (and got creative about it… remember when she just lounged by the pool in her bikini while he was talking to someone else?).
She also declared war on fellow contestant Emily and said she wanted “to verbally assault [Emily] or shave her eyebrows off in the middle of the night.” She wasn’t subtle, but that’s what earned her our top spot.
Chad Johnson (JoJo Fletcher’s Season)
He argued with all of the men about their feelings for JoJo, didn’t want to go on group dates and threatened violence on a daily basis. After JoJo sent him packing, he brought his protein and sweet potatoes to Paradise, and immediately insulted Sarah Herron by calling her “a one-armed bitch” and messed with Lace. Then lost his cool on Chris Harrison, and we all finally learned not to poke the Chad Bear.
Juan Pablo (Juan Pablo’s Season)
He’s the only lead to turn into the bad guy on his own season, and no, Juan Pablo, that’s not OK. It became increasingly clear throughout the season that he was not interested in finding a wife… even his family warned the girls he wasn’t in the finale.
Andi called him out for being superficial, he told Nikki he “liked her a lot” after she said “I love you” in the finale and after he sent Clare home, he whispered “I love f***ing you, but I don’t know you” in her ear. Worst. Bachelor. Ever.
Kelsey Poe (Chris Soules’ Season)
Remember Kelsey’s “amazing” story with her late love Sanderson Poe? She told Chris all about it, and then made out with him before she could even dry the tears. “It’s tragic, but it’s amazing. I love my story,” she bragged about her past and quickly became cringe-worthy.
When Kelsey was nervous about going home, she had “panic attack,” which rubbed all of the girls the wrong way. Nothing says villain like pretending to hyperventilate, but being totally fine when a certain farmer gave you attention and a rose. On her 2-on-1 date with Ashley I, she told her was above her. I wonder if she’s still in the Badlands.
Bentley Williams (Ashley Hebert’s Season)
Bad boy Bentley was never interested in Ashley, but she fell hard for him from the beginning. “I’m going to make Ashley cry, I hope my hair looks OK” and “I would literally rather be swimming in pee than try to plan a wedding with her” are just some of the comments he made to the camera behind Ashley’s back. Ashley’s feelings for Bentley hurt her relationships with a lot of the other men, and he could not be more deserving of a spot in the top 5.
Corinne Olympios (Nick’s Season)
Even though Bachelor Nation has only had the pleasure of knowing Corinne for four episodes, there has never been a woman who became a villain so quickly. She took her top off on the first date, ditched rose ceremonies for naps and is not afraid to tell the other girls how to be more confident like her. It’s unclear what Corinne’s future holds, but we know she is making her nanny proud by straddling Nick in the bouncy castle.
Olivia Caridi (Ben Higgins’ Season)
All eyes were on Olivia (and her mouth) from the beginning of her time on Ben’s season. She quickly went from the first impression rose to the most hated, and aggressively “stealing” Ben first every time without fail did not help her case.
She called herself the frontrunner (and Mrs. Higgins), cried about her cankles and said Amanda belonged on an episode of Teen Mom. She wanted to “talk smart things” and everyone in the house celebrated when she was left on a beach during a wind storm.
Kalon McMahon (Emily Maynard’s Season)
America fell for Emily during her time on Brad’s season – she was a southern bell, a single mother and had dealt with her fair share of tragedy – so when Kalon called her daughter “baggage” fans were not happy. The only reason he isn’t higher on the list is because the comment wasn’t caught on tape, and Emily handled it like such a badass that she hardly let him be a villain.
Joe Bailey (Kaitlyn Bristowe’s Season)
Joe didn’t handle his breakup with Kaitlyn well, but his true villainess didn’t begin until he walked on the beach of Paradise. After starting a relationship with Juelia, he ditches her the second Samantha shows up in Mexico and it is revealed that he was planning to “do anything to stay in Paradise” until Sam arrived. It’s just not cool to mess with a single mom, especially if you don’t feel bad at all and continue to brag.
Tierra LiCausi (Sean Lowe’s Season)
Tierra was the first (but definitely not the last), to have many injures (real or fake) on The Bachelor. It all started when she “fell down the stairs,” but she was totally fine when Sean appeared to comfort her.
Shortly after, all of the women started fighting with her and her version of apologizing was “I can’t control my eyebrow” and defending her “sparkle.” Sean eventually sent her home, so the Tierra show came to an end, but we will always be grateful for the drama she created.
Justin Rego (Ali Fedotowsky’s Season)
One of the many men who decided to come on the show with a girlfriend was Justin. He was worse than the others because he couldn’t even talk to Ali about it! He didn’t ran away like a coward.
Not to mention, when Ali got on the phone with Justin’s girlfriend, Jessica, she confessed that he was there for fame. She also revealed he had another girlfriend! Because Ali did such a good job exposing him, he was less of a villain and more of loser.
Wes Hayden (Jillian Harris’ Season)
Despite all of the men knowing Wes was there for the wrong reasons, it took Jillian a long time to catch on. There were allegations that Wes had a girlfriend at home the entire season, but he denied it and made it to the top four.
After he was eliminated, he was proud of himself and said “The first guy ever on ‘The Bachelorette’ to make it to the top four with a girlfriend.” He was a jerk, but not as memorable as he should have been. But now that I think about it, I wonder how his band is doing now.
Michelle Money (Brad Womack’s Second Season)
Michelle was controversial from the beginning, and she was very aggressive with Brad, even telling him what girls to send home. She got along with a lot of the girls in the house—until they saw her interviews where she trashed all of them. Michelle broke down on After The Final Rose, and won a lot of sympathy back from fans. Plus, she kept things light and fun during her appearances on Bachelor Pad and Bachelor in Paradise.
Nick Viall (Andi Dorfman’s Season / Kaitlyn Bristowe’s Season)
Oh, how the tables have turned. Before Nick was our leading man, he was villain on TWO seasons of The Bachelorette. To say Nick was hated by the other men and at home would be an understatement.
Between refusing to participate in group dates, calling out Andi on After The Final Rose, showing up late on Kaitlyn’s season and sleeping with Kaitlyn before the fantasy suite, he was set to go down in Bachelor history as a villain. When he stood up to Josh Murray on Bachelor in Paradise, a hero was born, but #NeverForget where Nick came from.
Rozlyn Papa (Jake Pavelka’s Season)
Rozlyn made Bachelor history by getting sent home because she was sleeping with one of the producers. She denied the relationship after the show wrapped, but during the Women Tell All, the other contestants confirmed they saw Rozlyn kissing and inappropriate touching the producer.
Jesse even swore on her dog’s life, so we know it’s true. She gets points for creativity, but her actions didn’t stir up as much drama during the actual season as they could have.
Vienna Girardi (Jake Pavelka’s Season)
Vienna was super competitive and serious about winning Jake’s heart, and she was not afraid to show it. She upset fan-favorite and future Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky on multiple occasions, which did not sit well with fans. Vienna did end up getting engaged to Jake, but they broke up and she went on a press tour trashing him.
Tensions were super high on the live After The Final Rose special, and both Jake and Vienna came off as childish. However, Vienna tried to get her revenge on Bachelor Pad when she confronted Jake with then-boyfriend Kasey Kahl. It backfired because she looked more like a villain than ever when she blamed Chris Harrison and the show for forcing her to be around Jake.
It’s an unwritten rule NOT to mess with Chris Harrison, but if you’re going to, do it on Bachelor Pad because it wasn’t popular enough to give her a higher ranking.
JJ Lane (Kaitlyn Bristowe’s Season)
Despite coining the term “villains gotta vill,” JJ’s actions weren’t that bad. Sure he talked bad about the other guys with his partner in crime Clint and ended up in a slap fight with himself over it, but it seemed like he was just joking the entire show and he was nice to Kaitlyn.
Also he totally redeemed himself on season 2 of Bachelor in Paradise – remember when he gave his rose to Ashley S so she could find love and he went home? Plus, anyone who gives a heartfelt monologue to patriotic music and ends up dating his beloved BIP costar Juelia can’t a true vill.
Leah Block (Ben Higgins’s Season)
Toward the end of Ben H’s season of The Bachelor, Leah approached Ben about future winner Lauren B acting different with him than she does with the girls. She was eliminated shortly after (never mess with the frontrunner), and when she appeared on Bachelor in Paradise, her makeover wasn’t the only thing to make headlines.
Initially wanting to date Chad – the first sign of trouble – she was interested in Nick Viall, which did make Amanda or the Twins happy. She’s low on the list because never did serious damage, but we wanted to give her props for trying.
