Spoiler alert! This story contains a spoiler from The Bachelorette‘s Season 21 premiere, which aired July 8. You can stream episodes with a Hulu subscription if you need to get caught up!
It’s certainly not unusual for Bachelor Nation to connect with certain contestants on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, only to have our own hearts broken when they ultimately get sent home. However, that anguish doesn’t usually strike until the latter part of the season when we’ve gotten to know everybody a little better. That’s not the case for Jenn Tran’s season, because after the premiere, fans are already up in arms over one of Jenn’s eliminations, and I fully agree that we’ve been done an injustice.
Going into Jenn Tran’s historic season of The Bachelorette, fans were excited to meet many of the 25 men who were cast to be her potential husband, but one guy in particular drew people’s attention. Brett Harris, a 28-year-old from Pennsylvania, became an early fan favorite, as fans saw his bigger size as a sign that ABC’s reality dating franchise might be branching out in regards to body diversity. There were even calls for Brett to become the next Bachelor before the season even started. So imagine our disappointment when, at the end of a long night, Jenn sent him home. As one fan tweeted:
All of Bachelor Nation collectively mourning the loss of THIS MAN 😭#bachelorette #TheBachelorette #bschelorABC pic.twitter.com/iaiYhXVZZzJuly 9, 2024
I completely understand the frustration that others in Bachelor Nation are feeling, because I found it so refreshing to see someone with a different body shape get cast on the show. At a time when The Bachelor’s executive producers are acknowledging the franchise’s “inexcusable” lack of racial diversity, Brett Harris’ presence seemed like a promising look to the future. All that went out the window, however, prompting one fan to write on X (Twitter):
Welp we had body diversity for .2 seconds.
There were high hopes for Brett Harris ahead of the season premiere, and he didn’t disappoint. Bachelor Nation seemed to collectively agree that he was charming and funny, and the guy did the splits for god sakes. Why was this man not kept around? To say fans were upset would be an understatement, as many took to Twitter with the following sentiments:
- This is fucking bullshit! Fucking insane! justice for Brett! She didn’t even give him a chance, 😭 big men deserved love too – 0001vanessa
- We were so robbed of him! He’s so beautiful and seemed like a super nice guy – hazelthornz
- I’ll ride at DAWN for Brett wtf he’s a national treasure – jossreynolds13
- WE REALLY ONLY GOT BRETT FOR ONE EPISODE REALLY – SDemalio
- Yeah she fumbled Brett hard. I’d give u a rose bby 💃 – daydreamxshawn
- I knew the moment Brett said “I’m not everyone’s cup of tea” he was going to be going home night one. I HATE IT HERE. Brett you are America’s #1. – lucyhodgs
Even in defeat, Brett Harris kept it classy as he wished Jenn Tran good luck on her journey. Fans loved his parting message, with one posting:
Not Brett saying “pick a good one” with a smile & hug on the way out 😭#TheBachelorette #Bachelorette pic.twitter.com/4A5YPFMR5UJuly 9, 2024
Most of the time the contestants who get eliminated on the first night go back to the relative obscurity of their normal lives, but one such man did manage to fight those odds — Grocery Store Joe. After being sent home on Night 1 by Becca Kufrin, Joe Amabile was cast on two seasons of Bachelor in Paradise and is now one of The Bachelor franchise’s most famous alumni. Could a similar fate await Brett Harris?
With no promise of Bachelor in Paradise returning, there may be just one avenue for Brett Harris’ comeback to the franchise, and it’s the one several fans have already been asking for:
BRETT 👏 FOR 👏 BACHELOR!#TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/NHRsQMX0sfJuly 9, 2024
Time will tell if and when we see Brett Harris again (outside of the “Men Tell All,” of course), but for now it just sucks that someone we’d been looking forward to getting to know won’t be on Jenn Tran’s journey after all. The Bachelorette airs at 8 p.m. ET Mondays on ABC, and be sure to check out our 2024 TV schedule to see what other premieres are coming.