UPDATED: People are Venmo-ing money to jilted Bachelor winner Becca so she can get sloshed
Last night, sentient vape pen Arie Luyendyk Jr. pulled some regrettable shit (even by Bachelor standards) by choosing finalist Becca Kufrin over runner-up Lauren Burnham, then reneging on that decision a few weeks later by dumping Kufrin in agonizing fashion so he could win back Burnham. The breakup was bad enough, but what made it worse was Luyendyk Jr. refusing to heed Kufrin’s desire to be left the fuck alone after the fact. As she sobbed in the bathroom, Luyendyk Jr. hovered throughout the house, knocked on her door, badgered her for more conversation, and tried to go in for hugs. The show made it all an “event,” too, repeatedly touting the footage as the first “unedited” footage “in reality TV history.” It was gross on so, so many levels.
Kufrin seems to be handling her heartbreak well in the aftermath, telling People that Luyendyk Jr. is “a good person” and she can’t “fault him” for not wanting to stay in a relationship when he has feelings for another person. She does, however, wish he had found a “better and more tactful way to do it.”
“A breakup is hard enough, and to have it all filmed and have to re-watch it and know that people all across the country are watching you get your heart broken, it is embarrassing,” she says. “It’s not fun. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. It was like a slap in the face.”
Bachelor alums across Twitter agreed, asking why the show would exploit the breakup in such a way.
But, hey, there’s a silver lining: Kufrin’s Venmo account is apparently being flooded with empathetic viewers who want nothing more than to buy her a bottle or three of wine.
It’s a small, but presumably welcome, gesture, especially given that the man she almost married once tried to get her to drink her own urine. He’s also, according to his ex, not really marriage material.
Drink up, Becca; it might not feel like it now, but a bullet was dodged.
UPDATE, 7:54 p.m.: On tonight’s episode, Bachelor host Chris Harrison revealed Becca made $6,000 in donations. She says she’s donating it all to Stand Up To Cancer, and the program is matching her contributions.