Right when we thought any and all Bachelor beauty-pageant drama bikini-strutted away from the mansion’s runway (so 2019), the show’s producers reminded us last night just how much they continue to worship at the shrine of Miss Congeniality. This week’s episode’s biggest drama, of course, came from the brutal slow burn of Alayah’s elimination, after numerous women told Peter Weber in quick succession that she was putting on a glittery façade to receive more attention from him and the cameras — a fun trick she learned while competing at, you guessed it, Miss USA. Victoria P., a clear front-runner at this point in the season, went on to tell Weber that not only did she know Alayah from the Miss USA circuit, but alleged Alayah begged her not to tell producers that they knew each other. “I didn’t really understand why,” she told Weber. “I didn’t think of it much then, but looking back at it now, she did ask me to lie, and that’s not who I am. Coming into this, she was really open to all of the opportunities that will come after this, even if you’re not her husband.”
This incredibly American conundrum begs the question: Just how many former Miss USA contestants has The Bachelor recruited this season? There are three women, actually, which is a slight increase from the Hannah Brown and Caelynn Miller-Keyes drama last year. Alayah was crowned Miss Texas in 2019; Victoria P. was awarded Miss Louisiana in 2019; and Kelsey, a.k.a. the Champagne-facial girl, won Miss Iowa in 2017. Victoria is the only one out of the trio to place in a Miss USA pageant: She managed to advance to the top-15 round, while Kelsey and Alayah didn’t go beyond their respective preliminary rounds. There are lots of swimsuit Instas, obviously.
And some more.
Despite Alayah’s elimination, the trailer for next week’s episode teases how she returns to beg Weber for another chance, and to figure out what the other women snitched about her. Now that is not beauty and grace.
