Ahead of the the infamous “Men Tell All” episode of “The Bachelorette” Monday night, several contestants from this season are weighing in on a controversy involving one of the three remaining men vying for star Hannah Brown’s heart.
Jed Wyatt, a 25-year-old singer/songwriter from Nashville, quietly became a front-runner this season. But he attained much more notoriety off-camera last month, after allegations came forward that he had a serious girlfriend directly before filming the ABC reality competition show and had planned to reunite with her after the filming wrapped.
Multiple cast members from this season who have been eliminated spoke to Entertainment Tonight at the recent taping of “Men Tell All” about the controversy and their own experiences filming with Wyatt.
“Let’s be real. Jed was super,” said Mike Johnson, a 31-year-old from Texas favored by fans to become the next “Bachelor” star.
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Dylan Barbour, a 24-year-old tech entrepreneur from San Diego who was sent home at the end of Week 6, said he was close friends with Wyatt while filming the show and hopes Brown picks him in the end.
“I really liked Jed,” Barbour added. “I mean, he’s one of my best friends in the house. We spent a lot of time together. We were roommates every time we traveled. So, I’m really hoping he finds love with Hannah, and I’m just hoping at the end of the day Hannah’s happy because that’s what this is all about.”
John Paul Jones, a 24-year-old Maryland native slated to appear on franchise spinoff “Bachelor in Paradise” later this summer, said he needed more information on the situation before he could take a real stance.
“Jed was just a really sweet guy and, you know, I’ve never heard him say anything bad to anyone,” he said. “I really don’t know all the facts of the matter and I am not sure about the primary sources, so, you know, I can’t really have a concrete position on that.”
Who will walk away from the season finale with a fiancée? Aside from Wyatt, it could be Peter Weber, the 27-year-old pilot with a sweet, funny personality and an affinity for windmills, or Tyler Cameron, a 26-year-old Floridian who Hannah is clearly very attracted to. Barbour still has his money on Wyatt.
“I felt like Hannah and Jed had a connection since Rhode Island that was unmatched by anybody else,” he said. “So I’m hoping that it’s authentic. I hope they kinda maintain that connection and it works out,” he said, adding he really hopes “Hannah finds love in the end.”
Barbour continued: “I know from my experience that the top three guys are all great gentlemen, and I’m just really hoping that she finds love and she finds happiness. And I’m also hoping the guy she picks finds happiness.”
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