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Warning: The Bachelorette Warning, spoilers for season 21. He went from audience favorite to villain, but is that the only reason Sam M. wasn’t chosen as the next Bachelor for season 29? His behind-the-scenes drama at The Bachelorette Season 21 didn’t help.
Sam McKinney, a 27-year-old contractor from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is one of 25 participants on The Bachelorette Season 21 with Jenn Tran. He was a fan favorite from the premiere, having received Jenn’s first impress rose and her first kiss on night one. Things got worse in episode 2 when Sam M. started feuding with another of Jenn’s favorites, Devin Strader, a 28-year-old freight company owner from Rosenberg, Texas.
Related topics: All The Bachelorette Season 21 spoilers, including Jenn’s winner
Fans continued to turn against Sam M. after he had his first one-on-one date with Jenn in Week 4, when Jenn criticized Sam M. in her confessional interview for laughing at her and not being more comforting on the day of their date, where they bungee jumped off a skyscraper in Auckland, New Zealand. The same week that Sam M. was eliminated, The Bachelorette In season 21, ABC announced that Grant Ellis, a 30-year-old day trader from Newark, New Jersey, would be the next Bachelor for season 29, replacing Joey Graziadei from season 28. So why wasn’t Sam M. chosen? We explain the real reason he wasn’t chosen – aside from the fact that Grant made a better impression on viewers and was the perfect choice, of course.
Why Sam M. is not the next Bachelor
Jenn sent Sam M. home on The Bachelor Season 21 in week 6 before Hometown Dates. From the last Bachelor And Bachelorette Leads, several were eliminated before Hometown Dates, including Season 15 Bachelorette Hannah Brown (who went home in seventh place on The Bachelor Season 23 with Colton Underwood) and of course Season 21 Bachelorette Jenn Tran (who went home in week 7 on The Bachelor Season 28 with Joey Graziadei).
More: Meetings The Bachelorette Cast of season 21
There were also several Bachelors and Bachelorettes who went home much earlier than Sam on The Bachelorette Season 21, including Season 26 Bachelor Clayton Echard (who was eliminated in eighth place on The Bachelorette Season 18 with Michelle Young) and Season 17 Bachelorette Katie Thurston (who was eliminated in 10th place at The Bachelor Season 25 with Matt James.)
While Sam M’s elimination before Hometown Dates did not take him out of the running to be the next Bachelor for season 29, it was his and his family’s openness towards The Bachelorette‘S Producers and editing, making it unlikely that the franchise would cast him again The Bachelor or Bachelor in Paradise.
More: Which Bachelorette Couples who are still together might surprise you
Sam M’s ex-girlfriend Rayleigh – who he dated before and after his relationship The Bachelorette Season 21 – claimed to Reality Steve in July 2024 that Sam M. called Jenn a “liar” when he returned from filming The Bachelorette and that—SPOILER—Jenn’s winner Devin proved his negative opinion of her.
“When he got back from filming, he told Rayleigh he thought Jen was a liar. He said, ‘Jen’s emotions are all messed up. And the person she chooses at the end will prove that what he told Rayleigh is what he really said to me,'” Reality Steve wrote.
Sam M. also hinted at his drama with Jenn and The Bachelorette in a comment reposted in July 2024 by the TikTok account ShesAllBach criticizing his edit on the show. “Most have felt this way and rightfully so. I even felt this way. It was incredibly disheartening for me to be portrayed this way. Hopefully the truth comes out in the end,” he wrote in a now-deleted comment in response to fans who questioned his behavior on the show. The Bachelorette. In another comment, he continued: “Oh, and by law I’m not allowed to talk about it… and now I find out why.”
Sam M’s relative Olivia McKinney also charged The Bachelorette not accurately reflecting what happened on Jenn’s season. “I’m ready for @bacheloretteabc to show allllll the context they left out,” she wrote.
Olivia could be referring to a controversial moment with Devin that Reality Steve claimed was edited out. The Bachelorette Season 21 premiere. The site reported that during a game of Truth or Dare on the first night, Devin was asked to name a conspiracy theory he believed in, to which he reportedly replied, “I believe 9/11 was an inside job.”
The scene was cut from The Bachelorette Season 21 premiere, presumably because Devin is Jenn’s winner. Reality Steve also reported that the entire cast, including Jenn, heard Devin’s comment and that moment was one of the real reasons most of the cast had an issue with him during filming.
Olivia wasn’t the only family member to defend Sam M. on social media, according to additional comments shared by TikTok account Zachary Reality. Another of Sam M.’s relatives, Seth McKinney, also suggested favoritism toward Devin. The Bachelorette Season 21 in an Instagram comment. “Crazy how they can edit out so many details to make one person look superficial while others look like royalty,” Seth wrote. “In another comment, he added, “Crazy things called producers and editing can make people see what they want and not what actually happened.”
Sam M.’s other relative Hannah also accused the producers of making strategic cuts. The Bachelorette Season 21. “Let’s see all the footage @bacheloretteabc…. I’m waiting,” she wrote. When a fan criticized Hannah for not being there for the filming, she responded, “I’m sorry your family doesn’t defend you like we do ours.”
Another relative of Sam M., Susan McKinney, also published a Facebook post accusing The Bachelorette trying to “destroy” Sam M’s character. “There is nothing real about ‘reality’ TV. Destroying someone’s character and manipulating the truth through editing is wrong on so many levels. Isn’t it interesting that the first night’s favorite is now being made the villain?” she wrote. “There are several spoilers out there about who she chooses in the end that you can google yourself. Sam is a good guy no matter how he gets conned and I will no longer stand by and say nothing. Hey, Bachelorette, that’s called free speech. At least mine is honest, which is more than they can say.”
Jeff McKinney, Sam M.’s father, wrote on Facebook: “I choose my words carefully. I watched idly this week as my son was completely devastated by the way he was portrayed. Sam was (mostly) the favorite with the rose for first impression, etc. The spoiler was revealed and (in my opinion) the network had to portray Sam as this horrible guy so Jenn wouldn’t look like a complete idiot.”
He continued: “Now I know why the network is offering free counseling for a year after the show. I feel like this episode was completely made up from cut and pasted sentences and scenes. You can’t change what he said and how he said it, but you can change the scene, the script, the context and completely change the performance. That’s how I feel. Feel free to share this. #ISTANDWITHTHEM.”
And yet it is rare that a Bachelor or a Bachelorette villain to become the next leading man is not impossible. Nick Viall was the Bachelor for season 21 after his villain edits on The Bachelorette Season 10 with Andi Dorfman and Season 11 with Kaitlyn Bristowe, where he finished second in both. Season 15 Bachelorette Hannah Brown was also arguably a villain – or at least a controversial candidate – when she appeared in The Bachelor Season 23 with Colton Underwood and in conflict with her former beauty pageant rival Caelynn Miller-Keyes.
The Bachelor is also more likely than The Bachelorette to cast a non-fan favorite as the lead, as seen with Zach Shallcross in season 27, Clayton Echard in season 26, Peter Weber in season 24, and Colton Underwood in season 23. While Sam M’s less-than-stellar likability may not have prevented him from becoming the next Bachelor in season 29, his feud with the network may have.
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Stream it on Hulu.
