A Complete History of ‘The Bachelor’ Hug Jump
The hug jump is a move that has many names in The Bachelor franchise, but fans know it when they see it. This greeting has become a kind of tradition in the franchise and even a bit of a joke. But where did it all begin? And what have former contestants and leads on the show said about the hug jump? Let’s take a look.
Who did the first hug jump in ‘The Bachelor’ franchise?
The hug jump doesn’t have an official name in the Bachelor franchise, but it’s made its way into pop culture over the years. Heather McDonald, host of the pop culture podcast Juicy Scoop with Heather McDonald, refers to this move as the “toddler jump.” Years ago, she demonstrated the move with former Bachelor Nick Viall.
So when did the hug jump begin? The first Bachelorette ever, Trista Rehn, jumped up on her husband, Ryan Sutter, during their wedding, which was broadcast on TV in a three-episode special. Notably, Trista didn’t wrap her legs around Ryan, probably because she was wearing a wedding dress.
Rachel Lindsay and Becca Kufrin popularized the hug jump
It’s impossible to know who originated the hug jump in the Bachelor franchise, but it definitely wasn’t as common in the earlier days of the show. However, by the time Becca Kufrin became the Bachelorette producers encouraged it.
“When I became lead because I had so many guys, it started as a joke. [The producers are] like, ‘Go run and jump and see your man!’ You get excited ’cause you haven’t seen someone in a little bit,” Becca said during an episode of the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast.
“Towards the end, it became this thing where it’s like, ‘Let’s see how fast I can run and see if they can catch me,'” she added. “I was like ‘How fast can I go? Are they going to catch me? What if there’s a body of water behind us? What will happen then?’ It became this fun game.”
Rachel Lindsay, who was the Bachelorette in the season before Becca, may have popularized this trend. “When I was on Nick’s season, we were never encouraged to do it,” Rachel said on the podcast. “I never jumped on Nick. When I was the Bachelorette, it was, ‘Go run and jump!'”She continued, “Dare I say, I’m a trendsetter and it started on my season?”
Zach Shallcross demonstrates the huju with Ryan Seacrest
While appearing on an episode of Live Kelly and Ryan, current Bachelor Zach Shallcross explained this famous move.”In the Bachelor world/Bachelorette world, the hug jumps are a big deal,” Zach said.
“Die-hard fans call it the hujus. It’s when you both embrace each other before a date, and it’s romantic, and you pick each other up and spin each other.” Zach then demonstrated the move quite successfully with Ryan Seacrest, and Zach gave his huju a good review.
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