Bachelor Nation has no shortage of loyal viewers. Like any long-standing fandom, they can act as dedicated internet sleuths that search the depths of the World Wide Web and the underbelly of social media to uncover details about a contestant’s past — especially if it means saving the current season’s lead from making a mistake.
Jenn Tran made history as the franchise’s first Asian American Bachelorette and fans have been quick to scrutinize the digital footprints of her season’s suitors. From discovering a frontrunner’s alleged political preferences based on his social media habits to learning about sexual assault allegations made about another suitor, Tran’s men have been at the center of offscreen controversy.
These days, social media deep dives are practically a given when it comes gathering intel on a reality TV contestant’s past. But no matter how thorough or well-intentioned these fans might be, their findings seldom change the course of a Bachelorette or Bachelor’s journey to find love.
The common misconception is that the lead requires saving to begin with. Who are we, as viewers, to assume that he or she isn’t already aware of all the dirt fans unearth?
Enter “parasocial” relationships — and Bachelor Nation is rife with them.
“’Parasocial’ relationships — whether it’s YouTubers, TikTok influencers or reality TV stars like Jenn Tran — are powerful forces that can significantly influence fan behavior and emotional attachment,” Lauren Auverset van Gerwen, an assistant professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s department of communication, told Yahoo Entertainment.
According to Auverset, a fan’s parasocial attachment to Tran is likely born out of the “perceived intimacy” of watching some of her “unscripted or semi-unscripted” moments during The Bachelorette.
“Repeated exposure to the person through watching the show weekly, plus time spent reading about or talking about the star strengthens the parasocial bond,” she explained. “Participating in a social media community for the show can create a sort of echo chamber where these parasocial relationships are validated or intensified.”
When it comes to Tran, fans may see “a role model, who has similar ideals or values, which can enhance their emotional attachment to her and motivate them to ‘protect’ her in the face of adversity. They may feel like by protecting Jenn, they are by extension protecting themselves,” she said.
Bachelor Nation is a very online fandom, and groups on Facebook and Reddit are among places where they gather online. Erik, an active member of the Bachelor franchise subreddit who asked Yahoo to use only his first name for privacy reasons, explained that while a fan’s desire to “protect” a female lead is “a recurring event,” it’s reached unprecedented heights during Tran’s season.
“A large number of fans feel inclined to protect the lead and form this parasocial relationship with them because we have seen [them] be a contestant in a prior season and get their heart broken,” he said. “Jenn’s case is definitely a unique one, because now more than ever fans (including myself) are beginning to lose faith in a lead’s ability to protect herself and we’re at a state where we view them as oblivious victims.”
During week 6, Tran eliminated first impression rose recipient and early frontrunner Sam McKinney after a heated conversation during which he declared that he was in love with her shortly after admitting that she’s not his type.
“To love someone means to really understand them,” Tran told McKinney. “I can’t sit here with someone who says that they love me but doesn’t even really want to get to know me and understand me and see me.”
After sending him home, fans took to social media to praise her decision. Still, viewers have expressed concern about Tran’s judgment regarding the remaining men.
Marcus Shoberg, with whom she spent the night in the fantasy suite during this week’s episode, recently came under scrutiny after allegations of sexual assault began circulating online. Women who claimed to be from Shoberg’s past allegedly tried to contact producers ahead of production, though ABC has not publicly confirmed this.
Erik believes that this type of revelation justifies a fan’s desire to protect Tran.
“If [Tran] has these people around her rooting for [Shoberg] or pushing for a perfect couple narrative, the least we can do is show her his worst sides and try to make her see the reality and do what’s best for her, not what’s best for the producers and the show’s image,” he said.
Yahoo Entertainment contacted the producers of the series, ABC and Warner Bros., for comment but did not immediately hear back.
The remaining three men on Tran’s season — Shoberg, Devin Strader and Jonathon Johnson — also haven’t inspired mass social media followings from viewers.
“Jenn’s final 4 has come in at the lowest average we’ve seen since the rise in Instagram,” Suzana Somers, a data analyst who runs the Bachelor Data Instagram account dedicated to tracking and comparing contestants’ screen time and social media growth, posted on Aug. 25.
With the disapproval some of her suitors have garnered, their lack of social media followers shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Casting a Vietnamese American female lead in what Brandy Monk-Payton, an assistant professor in media studies at Fordham University, considered a predominantly “white, romantic fantasy space” may also have a unique effect on how the fandom responds to her and the men she develops feelings for.
“There’s a kind of perfectionism around [Tran],” Monk-Payton said. “The audience wants to create this perfect season for her. But then you have ideas around the model minority [myth] that perpetuates a particular stereotype around Asian American women as being passive or sort of quiet. So fans, again, are trying to recuperate her and sort of provide that kind of protectiveness over her.”
Priscilla Zhou is currently watching this season of The Bachelorette. She has not been a fan of the franchise and Tran’s season has only confirmed this stance. In an Aug. 24 TikTok, Zhou acknowledged that the pressure Tran was likely under to be “a good role model for Asian American women,” but argues that Tran lacks maturity as the Bachelorette.
“Seeing from the men that she has kind of picked and chosen throughout her season, it seems like [white men are] probably her preference,” Zhou said in the four-minute video. “[Tran] probably has so many years of internalized thoughts of ‘I’m not good enough.’ … That really adds up over the years especially when you are trying to compete for the love of these white men who may not like you back because you’re not their ‘type.’”
Tran commented on Zhou’s video in response.
“We’re all allowed to be a work in progress. Being able to talk about [your] insecurities is a strength. I’m never going to claim to be perfect. But I sure as hell wasn’t chasing men [because] they were white,” she wrote.
On Monday’s episode, Tran headed to the fantasy suites with each of her final three men. Ahead of the Men Tell All special on Tuesday, viewers will see her select the two men that will continue to the finale.
Should Tran get engaged at the end of her journey to find love, it’d be a stretch to assume that any post-production fan findings would influence her relationship status.
“I think I’m as ready as I can be,” Tran told former Bachelorette Molly Mesnick of an impending engagement. “I feel so strongly for these three guys. I know that one of them is going to be my husband at the end of this.”
