10 Tired Tropes We Don’t Want To See On ‘The Bachelorette’

The Bachelorette is mere days from premiering and I’ve never been more excited for a season of reality TV.

Hopes are sky high for Brooke Blurton’s world-first season, which will include both men and women suitors for the first time, as well as feature Australia’s first Indigenous Bachelorette. We love to see it! Fans are especially hyped for Brooke’s season given how underwhelming Jimmy Nicholson’s season was. This year’s The Bachelor suffered some of the worst ratings in the show’s history, leading to rumours circulating that the reality dating show might not return next year.

It’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly went wrong with Jimmy’s season, but most viewers simply found it dull — offering nothing new for a show now in its ninth season. The season relied so heavily on tropes we’ve seen again and again; it didn’t feel original, instead it was just recycling reality TV clichés.

Brooke’s season is already breaking new ground in terms of diversity and representation, but we’re hoping it also breaks away from some of the more tedious The Bachelor/Bachelorette tropes.

Here are some tired tropes we don’t want to see on The Bachelorette.

1. The winner’s edit being super obvious.

Viewers shouldn’t be able to pick who the winner is going to be based on the way they were edited on the first episode. Take this year’s season for instance, most fans predicted that Holly Kingston would win Jimmy’s heart before they even shared their first date — and they were right.

Holly was given much more time during her entrance, which is a clear sign to fans that she was the one to watch. While the ‘wifey edit’ is a longstanding Bachelor trope, it’s just starting to get boring. It’s better if a few contestants cop the wifey edit, rather than singling out just one, or it makes the whole season far less exciting.

2. No one getting properly introduced.

With every new season of The Bachelor/Bachelorette, viewers are learning less about the show’s contestants. Back in the early days, almost every single contestant received an introduction package, but these days we’re lucky if the Bachy gets a backstory. I still couldn’t tell you a single thing about Becky Miles, who was one of last year’s Bachelorettes.

Viewers want to learn who these people are, or there’s no stakes in finding out if they do or don’t find love. It sounds harsh but we simply don’t know them well enough to care.

3. Annoying gimmicks that don’t bring anything new to the table.

We don’t need to be reminded that Jimmy is a pilot every 30-seconds, with nonstop pilot puns, pilot challenges, and pilot-inspired dates. Some of the best Bachy seasons have been when the show was stripped back to basics — without any gimmicks. Just let them date and pash and dry-hump on a picnic blanket. You know… good, clean family fun!

4. The forced drama from the second episode photoshoot.

There are three certainties in this life: death, taxes, and the second episode photoshoot. I’m not proposing the show scraps the photoshoot altogether — after all it gifted us Lobster Timm and a human-chicken walkout — but it doesn’t always need to be on the same episode for every season. Surprise us! Maybe Episode 5, let’s get crazy!

Additionally, the narrative around the contestants watching on and bitching during a steamy one-on-one photoshoot is so overdone. Who cares if two people kiss in a photoshoot?! The photoshoot is most entertaining when the contestants are dressed up ridiculously, so make that the aim — rather than fuelling drama over some kiss that usually is never brought up again.

5. Contestants getting mad that the Bachelor/Bachelorette kissed someone at a cocktail party.

I’m going to file this in the ‘who cares’ column. People are going to kiss! Isn’t that the point of the show, to see if two people have chemistry?? Let’s normalise kissing at cocktail parties because it’s never not going to happen and watching the same tired drama that every kiss causes is getting real old, real quick.

6. Contestants getting mad that someone cut off their chats early.

Same goes for people getting annoyed when their chats are cut off too prematurely at the cocktail parties. That’s just showbiz, baby! Stop pretending to be outraged when you really just want to gossip with the other contestants over a a plate of soft cheeses.

7. Dates involving baths, spas, hot tubs, or barrels.

No one wants to see it! For a scene involving a bath, why does it always make us viewers feel so dirty? Save the MA+ content for after the finale! And if the producers are thinking of getting chocolate involved ever again, don’t!

8. Drama that happened off-screen being brought up.

This year’s Bachelor was plagued by rumours that were started off-screen — mostly involving Jay — so the viewer never knew what to believe. Married at First Sight is guilty of doing this too. I don’t know if producers think this adds to the mystery, but it really doesn’t.

If it wasn’t filmed, then it didn’t happen!

9. Someone being questioned if they’re on the show for “the right reasons”.

Boring! First up, what exactly is “the right reasons”? If anyone thinks that contestants signing up to do a reality dating show are there 100% for love, then they’re dreaming. Everyone who does The Bachelor/Bachelorette is there partly for fame — sure, some more than others — but if they didn’t want to build their brand, they’d just find love like the rest of us: at the pub or on a dating app.

One of the biggest controversies on Jimmy’s season was that Jay had aspirations to be a TV presenter, which somehow meant that she was only on the show for fame. Why does this matter? Wanting to be famous and to find love are not mutually exclusive.

Let’s just chill out and accept that most people’s intentions are probably to find a partner and also raise their public profile. Breaking news: it’s a TV show.

10. Hometowns involving overprotective men acting psycho.

Speaking of truly tiresome reality TV tropes, overprotective men must be stopped! Every season at hometowns, the Bachy has to contend with a brother or father acting like complete psychos in the name of “protecting” their sibling or child. The most cringeworthy example is when dads act like their daughters are their property. Can you just not?!

I’m ready for some polite families, maybe a brother that asks if the Bachelor/Bachelorette wants to watch an episode of Rick and Morty, or a dad who just wants to show off his antique coin collection.

Toxic families are so 2020, it’s time to embrace wholesome hometowns moments!

–

The Bachelorette premieres Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 10.