Season 29 of “The Bachelor” concluded this Monday when Bachelor Grant Ellis proposed to Juliana Pasquarosa. In the season finale, Ellis chose between Litia Garr and Pasquarosa, proposing to Pasquarosa, who said yes. I watched the season with my friends, and we all agreed that this season did not have the same resonance as previous seasons. In the “Women Tell All” episode, I had difficulty remembering most of the women who appeared, aside from the few frontrunners.
It feels appropriate to admit outright that I do not like Grant Ellis. He called himself a “lone wolf” multiple times, and showed off his wolf tattoo at any given chance, and I became more livid every time. Why is he referring to himself as a “lone wolf” on a dating show? Lone wolves are, by definition, antisocial.
Garr, the other final contestant, is Mormon. Ellis visited her family in Utah and expressed concerns about meeting her family since he has tattoos (another wolf tattoo mention) and does not follow the Mormon lifestyle rules. Garr had been a frontrunner the whole season and received the first rose in multiple episodes. By fantasy suites, Ellis and Garr began having serious discussions about their potential future. Garr is 32 years old and said she wanted children from the beginning, most likely within two years of marriage. Ellis (who is 31, by the way) mentioned apprehension about having children so quickly. During fantasy suites, Garr said Ellis was “a very good guy… [with] great intentions,” but she did not want to go to the fantasy suite knowing he was dating other people. She said the fantasy suite was “not on the table” for her, and Ellis responded by saying he loved her. After his declaration of love, Garr felt their connection was strong enough to trust him in the fantasy suite.
The timing of Ellis’ admission does not sit well with me, especially since he did not propose to Garr. Saying he loved her gave her confidence in their relationship, confidence he did not seem to have himself. During the “After the Final Rose” segment of the finale, Garr said Ellis told her he could stop the show early because he knew he wanted to marry her. Ellis’ behavior towards Garr was disrespectful in terms of her decision.
I am happy Ellis did not propose to Garr. She deserves better than him, and I hope she finds someone who respects her personal decisions. I had very few feelings about Juliana Pasquarosa until “hometowns,” the episode where Ellis visited each of the final four contestants’ hometowns. Is being Italian the only somewhat interesting thing about her? I interviewed Italian-American student Julia Dellapena, FCRH ’27, and she found Pasquarosa’s behavior “disrespectful” to the Italian-American community, describing her behavior as “reducing [Italians] to cannolis and pizza.” Dellapena also disliked Ellis. “Grant is a player, and he did Litia dirty. I hope he remains a lone wolf,” she said.
My final (and perhaps least relevant) complaint is the activities on group and individual dates. Why do they always make contestants do death-defying jumps? They made Garr go on a zipline in Punta Cana (another activity she was clearly uncomfortable with), had Sarafiena Watkins jump off a bridge with Ellis and had Carolina Sofía jump off a building in Las Vegas. Why? What is the point? Do they think their compliance shows their devotion to Ellis? I wouldn’t jump off a building or bridge for anyone, no matter how much I loved them. Why do the producers seem to like throwing people off tall structures so much? That just sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. I’m sure they have contestants sign dozens of releases before appearing on the show, but it just bothered me this season. It seemed like they were not even trying to be original.
Plans for the next season of “The Bachelor” are unclear. A contestant on this season, Zoe McGrady, will be featured in the next season of “The Bachelor in Paradise.” In recent interviews, Ellis and Pasquarosa said they are not in a rush to set a date for a wedding. Ellis is moving to Boston to live with Pasquarosa, and “The Golden Bachelor” will be filmed over the summer.
