Why Some ‘Bachelorette’ Viewers Are Furious That Jake Pavelka Was in the Premiere

WaPo.com:

Monday night’s premiere of “The Bachelorette” was mostly business as usual, as the show’s new star JoJo Fletcher greeted 26 suitors who will compete to win her love. And similar to other seasons, producers teased that a special guest would stop by to confront JoJo during the episode, which any regular viewer knows is code for “cause as much drama as possible.”

Immediately, fans started guessing: Who was the mystery guy? Chad, JoJo’s ex-boyfriend who tried to start trouble when she was on “The Bachelor” last season? Ben Higgins, the bachelor who dumped JoJo and proposed to the other finalist? During the premiere, the man’s identity was finally revealed — and for some viewers, it was worse than they ever could have imagined.

You may be thinking, what’s the deal with this “Jake Pavelka” guy? Why did social media freak out when he suddenly appeared, whisking JoJo away for a private talk? (For the record, even though it was edited to look like Jake might want to swoop in and steal JoJo away, it turns out they’re longtime family friends, and he was just there to offer her advice about looking for love on reality TV.)

For those unfamiliar, Jake Pavelka, 38, is one of the more despised former “Bachelor” stars in the show’s history. He appeared as a contestant in “The Bachelorette” in summer 2009 as one of Jillian Harris’s suitors, though he was eliminated fairly early. Yet in January 2010, ABC made him the star of the next “Bachelor.”

The season was a low point, as Jake proposed to Vienna Girardi, known as the season’s villain — though most of the controversy occurred after the episodes ended. Mere weeks later, Jake and Vienna’s relationship quickly imploded and the two split. What followed was the most explosive break-up in franchise history, as the ex-couple proceeded to fire back and forth at each other in the tabloids. (Vienna was on the cover of Star calling Jake a “monster.” In return, Jake told Us Weekly she cheated on him.)

But the truly horrifying moments came when ABC decided to cash in on all this drama and bring the pair back for a special segment, where they could air all their grievances on camera. During the taping, things between Jake and Vienna got so ugly that the show was forced to issue a statement before the episode even aired, as rumors surfaced about a possibly dangerous situation. A show rep admitted that while Jake and Vienna’s sitdown was “emotionally charged,” no one was “ever physically in harm’s way, nor was anyone ever threatened with physical violence.”

RELATED:  5 Reasons Why “The Bachelorette” Fans Hate Jake Pavelka