With all the dramatic events surrounding Devin Strader and Jenn Tran after The Bachelorette Season 21 wrapped, it’s a great time to reminisce about the mean and audacious men who’ve graced the cult-classic dating show across all seasons. From gaslighting to slut-shaming, the show has had a hefty pick of douchebags who don’t “keep the main thing, the main thing.”Not to mention some of the violent, petty, and entitled contestants who have left our leading ladies in tears more often than one may presume.
I must point out that some of these picks are on here because of one odd slip-up, while others are deservedly placed for diabolical behavior that made them their season’s villains. But regardless of the circumstances, die-hard fans can unanimously agree that we loved to hate these resident mean boys on The Bachelorette. Let’s jog our memory and take a look at the men who shone brightly on The Bachelorette mean-boy Hall of Fame.
10 Wes Hayden
Season 5
Yes, that’s right. Our ranking is filled with red-flag contestants who’re so unforgivable that Wes Hayden from Jillian Harris’s season of The Bachelorette is nestled comfortably at number ten. Hayden was relatively harmless throughout the season and only let his fangs come out toward the end. Now, every woman loves a hunky musician, but one who whips his guitar out every chance he gets to sing the same song over and over takes the charm out of a serenade. Hayden was a clout chaser looking to promote his music career.
He subjected viewers and the Bachelorette to “Love, It Don’t Come Easy” a painful number of times. Be it his musical talents or country charm, Hayden made it to the final four, only for it to be revealed that he has a girlfriend back home! He gets a mean guy medal solely for his arrogant line delivered in the limo during his departure, “I’m the first guy on The Bachelorette to ever make it to the top four with a girlfriend.” Hayden’s smug expression while making that revelation just made him more insufferable.
9 J.J. Lane
Season 11
Someone who coined the phrase “villains gotta vil” does not escape from securing a place on this list. J.J. Lane from Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s season of The Bachelorette was an annoying, mean guy who was plain insufferable. Even comedian Amy Schumer, who made a guest appearance on the show, was evidently not a fan of him, where she remarked that Lane lacked charisma and humility. In classic mean guy fashion, he would steal the bachelorette away despite having secured a rose, which ticked the rest of the contestants off, and also proclaimed rather cockily how he was husband material.
Lane’s entitled behavior was mean and left a bad taste in viewers’ mouths. He also told the cameras that this wasn’t “church camp,” and he wasn’t here to make friends with the other guys. It must be noted that he was an incredibly self-aware douchebag, which can be appreciated on some level. But I have to admit, I was infinitely thrilled when Bristowe sent Lane home when she discovered that he had cheated on his ex-wife.
8 Kalon McMahon
Season 8
Kalon McMahon from Emily Maynard’s season is one of those choice contestants who earned the mean-guy tag for a particularly distasteful statement that left the Bachelorette, fellow contestants, and viewers infuriated. Apart from the fact that he showed up in a helicopter and constantly acted like he was better than everyone else, he also had his foot in his mouth. McMahon had passed a comment where he had called Maynard’s daughter “baggage.”
Maynard was the first single mom to become t he Bachelorette, and although McMahon’s statement wasn’t caught on camera, the information reached her through the other contestants. The leading lady was livid as she put on her mom-pants and burst out, “I want to go out there and rip his limbs off and beat him with them… I want to go West Virginia, hood rat, backwoods on his ass” before swiftly eliminating him. She let him off easy.
7 Nick Viall
Seasons 10 and 11
Presenting yet another shocker: the infamous Nick Viall is generously ranked on this list. Viall is a Bachelor Nation poster child. He has been on not one but two seasons of The Bachelorette and clearly seems to have a way with women because he also made it to the final two both times! He was also the leading man on The Bachelor Season 21 and also appeared in Bachelor in Paradise Season 3. He earns his mean-boy status for his stint on Andi Dorfman’s season of The Bachelorette. His arrogant and self-righteous behavior throughout the season and constant pot-stirring made him increasingly unlikeable.
While fellow contestants and fans weren’t particularly fond of Viall, his audacious statement, “If you weren’t in love with me, I’m not sure why you made love with me,” made during After the Final Rose cemented him as a villain. It was highly disrespectful of him to speak about intimate information on national television, putting Dorfman in a tough spot. Although Viall did go on to redeem himself during his later endeavors in the franchise, this particular incident will always be a black spot in his personality.
6 Jamie Skaar
Season 18
Spreading fake news is the oldest trick in the book that can cement one as mean, and that’s precisely what got Jamie Skaar kicked out of Michelle Young’s season of The Bachelorette. Skaar was off to a great start when he scored the first one-on-one date with the woman of the hour, wowing her with his sense of adventure and vulnerability. Things went downhill for Skaar when he started a rumor that Young dated contestant Joe Coleman before filming the show. Matters got worse when he started spinning a narrative with the Bachelorette that the men in the house were discussing her previous connection with Coleman. He later refused to own up to having started the rumor, which was plain malicious.
During the cocktail party, Rick Leach reassured Michelle that none of the men questioned her character. This led to a classic tracking down of the Chinese whisper, which ultimately exposed Skaar, with Young wasting no time on sending him packing. I’d also like to point out the moment when Skaar’s diabolic behavior had extended to him breaking the fourth wall and pulling a producer aside when he was backbiting the Bachelorette, exclaiming how it was such a turn-off while making a rude statement, “The challenging part with Michelle right now is that she’s basically just in f*****g spring break mode.”
5 Yosef Aborady
Season 16
Getting to the juicer numbers, as Yosef Aborady from Clare Crawley’s season of The Bachelorette has entered the chat. Let’s just start by pointing out that his actions were unimaginably mean and vile to the extent that he made the leading lady cry! Aborady slammed the Bachelorette for a group date Dodgeball activity involving the contestants to strip. He also brought up the incident with fellow contestants talking about respect for his daughter, “I don’t want her turning on the TV and seeing Dad’s ass.” He also remarked that he thought the Bachelorette was “classless” and planned on confronting her. Fun fact: he wasn’t even a part of the group date he was getting so worked up over. In episode 3, he criticized Crawley for making the men strip and gaslit her by remarking that she humiliated the guys.
Aborady doubled down on the insults by age-shaming Crawley — the oldest Bachelorette — stating that he expected her to be mature and believed she would set a bad example as a mother. He ended his diabolical confrontation with a mean line, “I’m ashamed to be associated with you,” which brought her to tears. Of course, he faced a shameful departure and even refused to apologize during the Men Tell All. An ex-girlfriend of Aborady, Carly Hammond, exclusively told The Sun how his character was “manipulative and narcissistic” while remarking how he plays the single dad card. Hammond, who dated him shortly after his stint on The Bachelorette, also noted that he wasn’t ”half as bad” on the show as in real life. Ironically, a toxic man like Yosef Aborady had the gall to gaslight Crawley.
4 Ian Thompson
Season 11
Where does one even start with Ian Thompson? In Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette, Thompson was entitled and self-obsessed, boasting about his Ivy League qualifications and proclaiming how he has what it takes to star in The Bachelor. He constantly hit the leading lady with harsh words and disrespectful comments that had viewers itching to throw a shoe at him. All this just because his ego couldn’t fathom why the bachelorette wasn’t going gaga over him.
He blasted Bristowe and accused her of being on the show to make out with guys on TV, doubling down on the insults by telling her, “I wonder if you’re really that shallow because I don’t see anything beyond the surface.” This was rich coming from a guy who left the show by remarking that he needed to have sex. During the Men Tell All, it was revealed that Thompson regretted his actions and gave Bristowe apology notes weekly.
3 Luke Parker
Season 15
If there were a poster boy for red flags, it would be Luke Parker. Parker’s emotionally manipulative actions on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette were so triggering that they posed a barrier to getting through the season. He committed all the grave sins that coin one as a toxic man, but it’s his physical altercation with fellow contestants that made him a high-ranking mean boy. Parker, who was awarded the First Impression Rose, was aggressive, made sexist comments, and shamed the Bachelorette. During an evening date with Brown, he remarked that he would never marry a girl who didn’t save herself for him.
In one of many instances where Parker was violent towards fellow contestants, Parker even got physical with Luke Stone by body-slamming him and kneeing him in the face during a heated rugby match. This was just one instance out of the many where Parker displayed violent and threatening behavior toward fellow contestants. Just before his Fantasy Suite date, Parker stated that he would not be with Brown if she had a physical relationship with the other men. She promptly kicked him out for slut-shaming her, which didn’t end without a fight as he stormed in with an engagement ring and almost needed to be escorted out by security. He was also hit with a $100,000 for breach of contract, as reported by PEOPLE.
2 Bentley Williams
Season 7
It’s alright not to feel attracted to someone, but to play with their emotions, to bask in sick, sadistic pleasure is another low. Bentley Williams from Ashley Hebert’s season was not attracted to the woman of the hour and was often seen making derogatory comments about her to the cameras. What’s incredibly sad about the whole situation is that the Bachelorette was smitten by Williams. He used most of his screen time to play with Hebert’s feelings, nicknaming her an “ugly duckling” during confessionals and making mean statements like “I’d rather be swimming in pee than plan a wedding with Ashley. I don’t care about Ashley at all.” Just three weeks in, he decided to leave the show and didn’t feel even an ounce of remorse, proudly boasting about how he was about to make her cry.
Everything about this man had left my blood boiling. The primary reason was that he never showcased his distaste in front of Hebert but talked smack behind her back. The f-boy later revealed to the cameras that his exit had more to do with the fact that last year’s The Bachelor winner, Emily Maynard, wasn’t the new Bachelorette and made further disrespectful remarks about how Ashley Hebert is the kind of woman he would “hook up with now and then.” Clearly, Bentley Williams forgot his way to his rightful abode — the trash can.
1 Chad Johnson
Season 12
Chad Johnson. That’s it. OG fans of the show know that this one was a no-brainer and requires no further explanation. You think of The Bachelorette mean guy, and he’s the first face that pops up. With his violent and honestly scary demeanor, he served major high school jock bully aura. Johnson bullied fellow contestants on Joelle “JoJo” Fletcher‘s season of The Bachelorette to the extent that everyone feared him — me and Fletcher included. He had even remarked that the leading lady was “naggy.”He was a liar and highly aggressive, especially in his many spats with fellow contestant Evan Bass.
Things went a step further when Bass joked about Johnson taking steroids, which resulted in the former ripping the latter’s shirt off. He even threatened to go to the home of Aaron Rodgers‘s brother after filming ended. Undoubtedly, the macho man who insisted on making eye contact while he ate meat was the meanest contestant on The Bachelorette by far. But I would like to point out that, despite being perched at the top of the mean-boy Hall of Fame, there’s no denying that he was irresistibly hot and entertaining to watch. Also, buying the trademark for Lucas Yancey‘s catchphrase, “Whaboom,” is a level of pettiness that needs to be commended.
