The season 22 finale of "The Bachelor," ABC's long-running reality television show, has been met with backlash from fans and viewers over the actions of Arie Luyendyk Jr., the season's Bachelor. However, both Luyendyk and the show's host Chris Harrison are standing by the way the events of the show were portrayed.
Luyendyk had initially decided to propose to contestant Becca Kufrin but changed his mind a few weeks later and decided to pursue contestant Lauren Burnham instead. "The Bachelor" allowed his breakup with Kufrin to be filmed for the show, which has caused a furor among fans and viewers. Many thought that the breakup should not have been filmed, blaming both ABC and Luyendyk for airing Kufrin's humiliation to the world.
However, Luyendyk does not seem to see anything wrong with letting cameras film his breakup with Kufrin. "Honestly, I wanted her the opportunity to be the potential Bachelorette," Luyendyk explained during an interview with "Good Morning America."
"The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" usually alternate seasons, which means that next season, the show's star will be female.
Luyendyk also said that he wanted it to be clear to viewers that the breakup was his fault — something he thought will be achieved if he let the breakup be filmed.
.@BachelorABC @ariejr opens up on why he chose to film his break up with Becca: "I really wanted everyone to know that this was on me. This was my fault and I felt like filming that would let people know that." https://t.co/pCdwLDzYu8 pic.twitter.com/1am6to9fY2
— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 7, 2018 " data-caption="null" data-credit="null">Harrison has also defended the decision to film and air the controversial breakup. According to him, viewers have always criticized the show for being scripted and for editing events to fit a storyline, but when an uncut scene is aired, viewers criticize that as well.
"Relationships aren't always pretty," Harrison told E! News, adding, "They're not always perfect. It doesn't always work. And you can't just show the pretty parts. That's not how the world works, that's not how love works. So I'm okay with showing the nasty and the ugly and the sad sometimes because that's what makes the good stuff so good. It's what makes when it really works."
When told of Luyendyk's explanation for allowing the breakup scene to be filmed, Harrison seemed doubtful that Luyendyk did indeed strategize the way he said he did. According to Harrison, if Luyendyk was "thinking as a producer and trying to produce the show as well as break up with a girl and make the switch," Harrison would be impressed.
However, Kufrin was indeed chosen to be the next Bachelorette, although whether or not Luyendyk's actions played a role in ABC's decision-making is unknown.
