‘The Bachelor’ Season 27: Nick Viall Defends Jess’ Concerns: ‘It’s Literally All About the One on One’
The Bachelor has become one of the most enduring shows in pop culture – not to mention reality television. Since 2002, fans have tuned in to watch contestants try to find love in a variety of exotic situations and locations. As much fun as the show can be, the discourse surrounding the couples can be equally spicy.
Recently, after the Season 27 bachelor Zach Shallcross ended things with contestant Jess Girod following her concerns about how they hadn’t yet enjoyed a one-on-one date, fans took to Twitter to defend Girod. Even former bachelor Nick Viall got in on the action, slamming Shallcross for his actions.
What happened between Jess Girod and Zach Shallcross?
Season 27 of The Bachelor debuted in January 2023. As the man looking for love, Shallcross captured the attention of fans, with his charismatic demeanor winning over the contestants on the show. Shallcross previously appeared on the nineteenth season of The Bachelorette – but his tenure on the franchise didn’t mean that it would be easy for him to find love.
Recently, Shallcross made waves when he broke things off with Girod, a contestant with whom he had demonstrated significant chemistry. During the episode, which aired in late February, Girod pulled Shallcross aside to tell him that she was upset that she hadn’t yet had a one-on-one date.
Shallcross seemed not to understand her concerns, and even seemed a bit annoyed she was upset she hadn’t had the one-on-one time. By the end of the evening, he sent Girod home from the competition, effectively ending their budding relationship.
Nick Viall took to Twitter to defend Jess Girod
In the wake of the episode, part of which is available on YouTube, fans took to social media to slam Shallcross for not hearing and responding to Girod’s concerns. Even former Bachelor star Nick Viall had something to say, writing on Twitter, “That’s 2 weeks in row now Zach was a total d*** to one of the woman. It’s literally all about the one on one. Zach knows that. He made Jess feel like she messed up for expressing a valid concern.”
He followed up that tweet with another: “Zach is acting like the guy who gets mad at his girlfriend for not letting him know she wanted validation on her birthday.” This isn’t the only time that Viall has gone in on Shallcross. Over the course of the past few weeks, Viall has posted several times about Shallcross, slamming him for the way he responds to the women on the show.
“Every time Zach hears any of the woman express an insecurity, instead of showing an ounce of empathy, his face just drowns in disappointment,” the reality star tweeted recently.
Fans have reinforced the validity of Jess Girod’s concerns
Fans are also not happy with Shallcross after he didn’t react positively to Girod’s concerns about the one-on-one date. Fans on Reddit had a lot to say about the conversation, with one viewer posting, according to Heavy, “I am SO disappointed in how he treated Jess with zero empathy. I am not sure why he is acting like one on one dates are not important and he got annoyed with her for being sad that she hadn’t gotten individual time with him yet. I felt like that was a huge red flag.”
Many fans were in agreement regarding the one-on-one dates, noting that those dates are one of the few occasions on The Bachelor where the two parties who are interested in marrying each other are actually given quiet time. It is a chance for both people to be vulnerable and connect over serious topics. As one Reddit user put it, “This was such a weird encounter and showed an utter lack of empathy on Zach’s part.”
