On a recent episode of Peter Weber’s season of The Bachelor , eight contestants were invited to a group date. “Let your personality shine.” The date card told Alexa, McKenna, Natasha, Deandra, Lexi, Victoria F., Kelsey, and Hannah Ann. Fashion and reality television stars Carson Kressley and Janice Dickinson, as well as the chief brand officer for the trendy clothing company REVOLVE, a woman named Raissa Gerona, met the women for the date. They told the contestants to pick two outfits to show off on the catwalk. The winner of the modeling contest, the celebrities explained, would get $ , worth of REVOLVE clothing to take home.
Nick Viall, a former lead (and multiple-time contestant) of The Bachelor , commented on his podcast how “meta” this date seemed. Many of The Bachelor contestants go on to model REVOLVE clothing on Instagram after their time on the show. (Especially the ones who go on Bachelor in Paradise and rack up more Instagram followers). Many Bachelor Nation podcasts remarked on how the show was diving into its own stereotype. Many see The Bachelor as a sort of reality-TV-based factory for Instagram influencers. However, the idea behind the REVOLVE group date came from a former Bachelorette – and not the one you might expect.
On the second episode of Weber’s season of The Bachelor , the contestants competed against each other walking the runway for REVOLVE .
Kressley, Dickinson, and Gerona judged the contestants for fashion and personality on the catwalk. The winner [spoiler alert] ended up being controversial contestant Hannah Ann Sluss. She received forty shopping bags full of clothing.
(Peter Weber of The Bachelor) | Paula Lobo / ABC via Getty Images
‘The Bachelor’ viewers said this contestant had an advantage after watching the season (episode
The reason Sluss, a native of Knoxville, Tennesse, is a rather controversial winner? She was a model before appearing on The Bachelor .
“Modeling really gave me the opportunity to travel and to be around different people,” Sluss shared on the first episode of The Bachelor (Season) .
Also, Sluss is friends with Bachelor in Paradise star Hannah Godwin. A contestant on Colton Underwood’s season, Godwin recommended Sluss for Weber’s Season of The Bachelor .
Some fans have even noticed that Sluss has posted multiple pictures on Instagram of herself in REVOLVE attire. We can’t be sure if she was paid for these posts, but some Bachelor Nation fans are wondering if she already has worked with the brand. Either way, it makes her group date success a little less sweet.
But who was the mastermind behind this drama-causing group date?
Former lead of ‘The Bachelorette’ Rachel Lindsay planned the date for Peter Weber and this season’s cast
Rachel Lindsay, the franchise’s first-ever African-American lead, joined Juliet Litman on the podcast (Bachelor Party to discuss The Bachelor . One of the more recent alums of The Bachelorette , Lindsay is known for never being afraid to share her honest opinions. However, on this recent episode of Bachelor Party, Lindsay revealed something else: she had a hand in setting up the group date this season that caused quite a bit of controversy.
Peter Weber and his contestants on The Bachelor | ABC / Craig Sjodin / Getty Images
Her reveal was extra surprising, because out of all the women that have come out of The Bachelor and its spinoffs, Lindsay isn’t the most frequent model of REVOLVE clothing. Nor is she the Bachelor alum who’s always putting up sponsored posts.
But the reality television personality and podcast host explained her clever observation that led to the date. Lindsay noticed how many veterans of The Bachelor are super into REVOLVE; several of the former stars go on trips paid for by the company, and constantly post pictures in the clothing. She eventually reached out to her contacts at REVOLVE about the show.
Rachel Lindsay as The Bachelorette | Craig Sjodin / Walt Disney Television via Getty Images
“I kept telling them they needed to do something. ‘You have all these Bachelor girls that are interested,’ ”Lindsay explained that she told the brand. “It’s your entire demographic. You should do something. ”Lindsay said she facilitated the whole thing.
“I set them up with the right Bachelor people so they could get this whole integration started,” Lindsay Continued on Bachelor Party . Litman asked why Lindsay wasn’t on the date herself, like the other celebrities. The former Bachelorette lead said that’s not what she’s in it for.
“This is even my first time publicly talking about it,” Lindsay revealed. “I don’t need the recognition.”
Lindsay seems happy in love with her new husband (and winner of her season of The Bachelorette ), Brian Absasolo.
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