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The Bachelorette
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‘The Bachelorette’ Did Jenn Tran Dirty With Unbelievably Cruel Finale
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‘The Bachelorette’ Season 21 Finale Recap: Did Jenn Tran Get Engaged To Devin Strader Or Marcus Shoberg?
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‘The Bachelorette’ Bombshell: Jenn Tran Reveals Devin Strader Called Off Their Engagement
The Bachelorette‘s Season 21 finale unfolded on Tuesday, September 3, and among the many heartbreaking revelations and shocking betrayals Bachelor Nation witnessed during the three-hour live event, the night’s biggest twist turned out to be the franchise’s appalling treatment of this season’s star, Jenn Tran.
What was praised and marketed as a historic season celebrating the first Asian American Bachelorette lead delivered an unprecedented, dramatic ending, as host Jesse Palmer relentlessly promised. Unfortunately, the conclusion came at the cost of its lead, who spent the season opening her heart and repeatedly proving she was here for the right reasons, only to be burned by her final two men and done dirty by franchise producers…again!
After coming to the difficult realization that Marcus Shoberg’s feelings for her weren’t strong enough, Tran refused to fall back into a relationship with an emotionally unavailable man and sent him packing. We watched her go to Palmer, tell him she was “100% sure” in her decision, and reveal that not only was she ready to get engaged to Devin Strader, but that she wanted to propose to him in an exciting franchise first! Bachelor Nation should have watched that proposal play out and learned of the heartbreaking events that followed in linear fashion. Had we done so, I’m confident Tran’s emotional trauma would have been severely minimized. Instead, Palmer brought our Season 21 lead out first, had her tearfully tell the world that her fiancé Devin Strader fully checked out of their relationship shortly after filming ended, called off their engagement over the phone in July, and had been ghosting her for weeks as the final episodes aired. That Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Reality should have been the sole source of Tran’s pain during the live finale. But in a tone-deaf move that left members of Bachelor Nation disgusted, producers decided to up the emotional ante at her expense.
The agonizing series of events continued when Palmer invited Strader on stage to speak with Tran for the first time since ghosting her. She broke down in tears while questioning his intentions on the show and scrutinizing his actions post-filming. She called him out for promoting episodes and posting memes on Instagram week after week, while she watched his lies back every Monday night heartbroken, knowing that the version of himself he presented on the show wasn’t real. After Palmer gave Strader time to speak — during which he failed to take proper accountability for his actions — the host then smashed play on the proposal footage, even after Tran balked when asked if she wanted to watch it play out in front of hundreds of people in the studio audience and millions at home. “Do I have a choice?,” she asked rhetorically, knowing full well that she, in fact, did not have the agency to make that decision.
With the knowledge that Tran and Strader’s relationship had crashed and burned since that day in Hawaii, it seemed all the franchise had to gain from airing the proposal clip — in that chaotic order, nonetheless! — was an elevated shock factor and gut-wrenching live reactions of Tran uncontrollably sobbing in front of a live studio audience, all while sitting on a couch with the very man who disrespected her and her family. It’s no secret that the franchise has made its fair share of mistakes and endured heavy criticism in the past, on everything from mishandling of race to poorly vetted casting and so on. None of the missteps were right, and none of them should be excused, but seeing this deeply distasteful show of cruelty and humiliation at the hands of producers after they spent so much time over the past year vowing to right past wrongs and protect their leads felt like a new low.
Even Bachelor Nation’s favorite spoiler, Reality Steve, was taken aback by the decision, calling it “cruel” and “literally the worst thing this show has ever done.”
Tran wasn’t protected during the finale, and looking back on her unnecessarily traumatic journey to find love, we’re reminded that producers set the 26-year-old up for failure from the start. By teasing Maria Georgas as a potential lead for weeks during Joey Graziadei’s season on The Bachelor, then bringing fellow Bachelor Season 28 alum Daisy Kent out to turn down the gig before announcing Tran as Season 21 lead back in March, producers presented her to the world as a third option — or as her now ex-fiancé Devin would say, as “one of, not the one.”
Her careless introduction as a lead, rushed production (filming started the day after she was announced), and confusing casting (it remains unclear if Season 21’s men were hand-picked for Jenn!) not only set her up for failure, but helped establish a running thread throughout the season that she wasn’t a first choice for these men. From first impression rose winner Sam McKinney telling Tran that he exited the limo Night 1 and felt she “wasn’t his type” because he “thought Daisy or Maria would be the Bachelorette” to Tran revealing that her ex-fiancé Strader followed Georgas on Instagram one day after he called their engagement off over the phone during the finale, Tran was made to feel like “one of” from start to finish.
After producers majorly fumbled her historic casting announcement, they had all season to step up to the plate and champion Tran. Through each step of her journey, Tran carried herself with grace — including post-finale when she issues a call to Instagram followers asking them not to spread hate and reminding them that she “leads with love and empathy.” To producers’ credit, each episode — including the pre-recorded, edited portion of the finale — powerfully portrayed her immense heart, growth, and vulnerability. But during the live, organically raw portion of the finale, producers once again proved that without the safety net of edits and controlled narratives, they’re unable to follow through on promises to improve. As a result, what could have easily been a seamlessly soaring success for on-screen representation ended with the first Asian Bachelorette lead in tears — ones not solely brought on by a break-up.
Following unexpected heartbreak and months of psychological strain, Tran deserved better than platitudes and affirmations sprinkled throughout the night by Palmer, only to be followed up with more anguish. She deserved better than sharing a couch with Strader and watching her proposal back in front of a live audience. She deserved better than an exclusive first look at The Golden Bachelorette being used as a distraction from her heartbreak. And she deserved better than producers taking away her control in the final stretch of her journey.
Following the disappointing finale, some members of Bachelor Nation begged the franchise to do right by its second Black Bachelor lead Grant Ellis in his upcoming season, while others deemed the latest massive misstep their final straw. Coming off of Joey Graziadei’s refreshingly restorative Bachelor season and the promising casting of two diverse leads (Tran and Ellis), the brutal Bachelorette finale seemingly catapulted the franchise and its producers back to its redemption era. The question is, how many times will members of Bachelor Nation accept apology roses?
Catch up on the rest of Decider’s Season 21 finale and After The Final Rose coverage here.
