The Bachelor: 10 Villains Who Became Fan Favorites

ABC’s The Bachelor is extremely popular, thanks to its fascinating contestants. There are several villains and fan-favorite contestants in each season.

However, there are some contestants who have held both titles at the same time. Sometimes a fan favorite becomes a villain, but it is much more fun to watch a villain become a fan favorite. There are times when a contestant holds the title of a villain on The Bachelor before turning a new leaf on Bachelor In Paradise or another spin-off. However, sometimes a contestant is both a villain and a favorite in the season.

9 Michelle Money

Michelle Money was a contestant on Brad Womack’s season (well, his second season as the Bachelor). In her interviews, she frequently made jokes about the other women and how she wishes she could “practice making babies” with Brad in Tahiti. Fans disliked her attitude and the fact that she apparently had a baby as a teenager. It wasn’t until the “Women Tell All” episode when the other women stood up for her, claiming she must have been a victim of the “villain edit.” Her next attempts at finding love on The Bachelor Pad and Bachelor In Paradise were when fans got to see her in a new light, as the strong and funny woman that she is.

8 Demi Burnett

Demi Burnett was a contestant on Colton Underwood’s season. In a similar way that Michelle Money was a victim of editing, Demi may have been the same. However, viewers know better than to take things at face value these days.

Fans did not really see Demi as the villain. Instead, they saw Demi as a hilarious commentator. Then she became the first woman on Bachelor In Paradise to date another woman on the show. She and Kristian Haggarty were casually dating before the show and left the show engaged. As the first person to really represent the LGBTQ+ community on the franchise, she will always be a fan favorite.

7 Olivia Caridi

Olivia Caridi was the main villain of the contestants trying to find love with Bachelor Ben Higgins on his season. She was a news reporter before coming on the show. Olivia did not get along with the other contestants. She most famously stated that the life and trials of a single mom of two, Amanda Stanton, reminded her of an episode of Teen Mom. The way she was portrayed on the show really impacted her life for the worse. However, she was able to turn her life around by starting her own podcast. She also has since received apologies from both Ben Higgins and Chris Harrison.

6 Corinne Olympios

Corinne Olympios was a contestant on Nick Viall’s season. She was quickly disliked by fans and fellow contestants because she came off as very spoiled.

Corinne frequently bragged about being the owner of a “multi-million dollar company,” even though it was her parents’ company, not hers. She also revealed early on that as a full-grown woman, she still has a “nanny.” However, when DeMario Jackson was accused of taking advantage of her while drunk, she publicly defended him. She could have easily used this for attention and clout by playing the victim, but she instead told the truth. Now, she is a fan favorite.

5 Krystal Nielson

Krystal Nielson was a contestant trying to win the heart of Bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr. Fans and her fellow contestants were quickly annoyed with her fake, high-pitched voice. She also often refused to go on group dates, as if to hold herself to a higher standard than the rest of the women. Krystal frequently got into heated arguments with the other contestants and even had some beef with the Bachelor Arie himself at one point. Then she appeared on the next season of Bachelor In Paradise, where she met her future husband Chris Randone. Even though that relationship did not last, she was able to change her reputation on the show’s spin-off and become a fan favorite.

4 Victoria Larson

Victoria Larson stepped out of the limo as a contestant on Matt James’ season wearing a ballgown and tiara. She referred to herself as “The Queen.”

At first, Victoria seemed like another spoiled brat who would cause problems on the show. Eventually, though, fans were able to see that she was really just making life more fun for herself and the other contestants. So she really grew into a fan favorite. It probably helped that show editors chose to list her occupation as “Queen.”

3 Ashley Iaconetti

Ashley Iaconetti was a controversial contestant on Chris Soules’ season of the show. She showed up looking like a Kardashian who used her virginity as a way to advance her way to Chris’s heart. She also had a very explosive feud with a fellow villain, Kelsey Poe. However, when she met and fell in love with her future husband, Jared Haibon, on Bachelor In Paradise, fans started to fall for her too. Now, she and former Bachelor Ben Higgins host one of the most popular podcasts related to the franchise.

2 The Twins: Emily and Haley Ferguson

When a set of blonde twins stepped out of the limo to meet Bachelor Ben Higgins, it seemed like they would for sure become the next villains on the show. On the first night, they seemed to come off as spoiled and dramatic. However, once fans and the other contestants got to know them, the twins demonstrated how caring and mature they really were. They became such close friends with every contestant. Once Ben and Lauren did not work out, the twins even took over starring in their spin-off show on Freeform.

1 Hannah Brown

Hannah Brown was a contestant on Colton Underwood’s season. It wasn’t until she and fellow contestant Caelynn Miller-Keyes started feuding on the show that fans started to see her as a villain. However, once the two were able to apologize and set aside their differences, both women began to thrive. So much so that Hannah Brown was eventually chosen to get a second chance at finding love as the new Bachelorette. In fact, she was one of the most popular Bachelorettes in the history of the franchise.