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The Bachelor mansion has witnessed two feuds within three episodes, and Maria is at the center of them all. Last week, fans saw her clashing with Madina, but this time, it was Sydney who labeled her a "mean girl" in front of Joey. However, viewers' opinion of Maria's behavior does not align with Sydney's, as they're now extending support to the former.
At the pool party in episode 3, Sydney complained to Joey about Maria, claiming that the latter "verbally attacked" her:
"I sat there and held my composure. She (Maria) called me ‘embarrassing,’ ‘weird’ and ‘dumb.’”
Fans were quick to rubbish her narrative, highlighting that Maria never called her any of those words. User @meaganrosewrite, wrote on X:
"MARIA? A MEAN GIRL? WATCH YOUR MOUTH."
What happened between Syndey and Maria on The Bachelor episode 3?
The drama began when Joey visited Madina and asked her about looking "upset" at the last cocktail party. Madina implied she felt like she was being "bullied" in the house after a female suitor commented about her age:
"From what I heard, some girls were apparently saying, ‘She’s not even that old,’ which felt very invalidating.”
When Joey asked her who the suitor was, Madina declined to give him a name. Later, Joey confronted all the women about the possibility of a "bully" in the mansion, stating the idea "scares" him. He encouraged everyone to speak up if there were things that needed to be addressed. After Joey left, Madina and Maria confronted each other, with the latter asking how she felt "bullied" by her.
Sydney joined in the conversation adding she felt "bullied" as well, even labeling Maria "catty." She noted:
“I literally heard you talk sh*t about my friend. You are literally talking sh*t all the time.”
At the pool party, Sydney told Joey she felt "verbally attacked" by Maria, which led the leading man of The Bachelor season 28 to address the drama. He told Maria:
“What I was hearing was the words ‘verbally abusive,’ ‘hostile environment,’ feeling like she couldn’t share how she was feeling and as soon as someone spoke up, you were attacking them and were cursing out some of the other women."
Maria denied ever "bullying" someone in the mansion, adding that the accusations have upset her. She explained that she knows how it feels to be bullied and her past experience wouldn't allow her to treat anyone the same way.
Upon listening to her side of the story, Joey felt bad about not asking more questions. In a confessional, The Bachelor star noted:
"How Maria was talking to me felt more real than how Sydney was talking to me. I’m very distraught right now.”
The Bachelor fans highlight Sydney's lies
A barrage of fans on X have extended support to Maria, highlighting she has never attacked anyone on the show verbally. Instead, many are suggesting Sydney is the one who inflicted the drama that other suitors believe does not need to be paid attention to.
At the rose ceremony, Joey chose both Maria and Sydney, meaning there's scope for the feud to amplify in the future. Besides them, the other suitors who stayed behind were Lexi, Lea, Kelsey T., Rachel, Madina, Daisy, Jess, Edwina, Autumn and Allison.
The Bachelor episode 4 will air on Monday, February 12, at 8 pm ET, on ABC.
