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The Bachelor is an extremely popular American reality TV dating show, running for over 20 years now. Created by Mike Fleiss, the show premiered on ABC back in 2002 and was received well by the audience.
The popularity of the show not only warranted several seasons, but it also gave birth to multiple spin-offs of the series. The Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad, Bachelor in Paradise, The Bachelor Winter Games and other titles under the franchise have also been a hit over the years.
While reality shows are always filled with drama and excitement, The Bachelor takes the cake.
2023 brought forth the 27th season of the show and followed former participant of The Bachelorette, Zach Shallcross, as the Bachelor for the season.
The engagement, the blackface controversy and 5 other moments from The Bachelor season 27 that created a buzz
1) The engagement finale
Season 27 of The Bachelor has just come to an end with Zach Shallcross and Kaitlyn Biggar winding their way to each other. Shallcross, who previously had no luck on the 19th season of The Bachelorette, finally found the one.
After weeks of spending time with his potential romantic interests, Zach's choices at the end for a life partner came down to either Kaitlyn Biggar or Gabriella Elnicki. The California-based sales executive went with his heart and gifted the final rose to Kaity, and the two got engaged.
"I love you so much. I love you with all my heart, and you’re the face I want to wake up to every morning. I want to go through life with you and only you. Kaity, I want to be with you forever."
In an interview with People, the couple talked about how they wanted to move in together in Austin, Texas before setting a date for marriage.
2) Greer Blitzer's blackface controversy
Greer Blitzer was also a prominent name this season. However, not for the right reasons. The controversy around Blitzer that got everybody talking was her take on blackface. When she was younger, Blitzer had defended a friend who had appeared with blackface.
During the Women Tell All special of the show, Jesse Palmer talked about how the franchise had not done a great job in addressing racism previously and how they intended to change that. Greer Blitzer had already issued an apology but reconfirmed that what she did was wrong and she was educating herself.
3) Anastasia Keramidas accused of having a boyfriend while filming
The Women Tell All special from the show was quite eventful. Their trip to the Bahamas was also a hot topic with Anastasia Keramidas at the midst of it. Kat called out Keramidas and alleged that she had a boyfriend during their filming.
Anastasia categorically denied these claims and reiterated that they never dated.
"I did not have a boyfriend. I still don’t have a boyfriend. I never dated that person. I can show you the receipts of when those photos were taken. They were taken the week before I came here when I was at my friend’s wedding and he was there because he lives in Seattle."
4) Zach Shallcross's mishandling of the fantasy suite week events
The Fantasy Suites week saw quite a bit of development in Zach Shallcross's quest for love. At the beginning of the week, he himself put out a rule about not getting intimate with the finalists without first reaching a decision. However, Gabi Elnicki and Zach Shallcross got intimate with each other during their overnight date.
Later, Gabi Elnicki called out Shallcross for making their private moments known to the public. As she pointed out, it made her feel betrayed and also humiliated.
"It was a moment we shared together and we were happy about that, and it was consensual and what we wanted.[But] we decided that it was gonna be between us. We said it that night. And I remember I was brushing my teeth and you came up behind me, and you kissed me on the back of my head, and you said, ‘This is just between us.’ And I said, ‘Yes, this is just between us."
5) Kat kissed Zach right before Charity's date
Another moment that cooked up a storm was during the Estonia trip. Charity Lawson was the first girl to have a one-on-one date with Zach in the city of Tallinn. But when he came to pick her up, Katherine Izzo stole him for a few minutes.
While alone, Kat kissed Zach just before Charity's date with him, and this rubbed the latter in the wrong way. She felt like Kat had stolen Zach when he had specifically come for her. Brooklyn Willie and Kat also got in a verbal altercation in regard to this.
6) Some of Zach's decisions were criticized by fans
Zach Shallcross received flak from fans for some of his decisions and lack of empathy. Greer Blitzer came down with COVID-19 and missed out on the week in Estonia. However, when she made a comparison that Zach did not take to, he let her know pretty quickly.
Jess was eliminated on the spot after a confrontation with Zach about not getting a one-on-one date with him. Also, when Kat said that she was not completely sure about introducing Zach to her family, he let her go. Some fans criticized him for not having any empathy.
Former participant, Nick Viall, along with countless fans voiced their opinion on this matter.
7) Microaggression against black women
During a group date between the girls and Zach, Kylee had tried to steal him away from Anastasia for a bit. When she did not allow for it, Kylee had jokingly said:
"I don't like to fight, but..."
This led to Anastasia telling the other ladies how she was scared of Kylee and her aggressive nature, when this was really not the case. Genevie explained how this was an example of microaggression against women of color, and how it stereotypes them to be aggressive. This was a memorable moment for the franchise, as instead of sweeping issues under the rug, it was addressed properly.
These were some of the most memorable moments on the show which attracted a lot of attention from fans. The 27th season of The Bachelor was quite eventful and interesting, contrary to what people had believed it was going to be with Zach Shallcross in the lead.
The show came to an end on March 28, 2023 with Zach and Kaitlyn getting engaged.
