Right from the opening minutes of the ABC show, the drama kicked off with a contestant self-eliminating because she was still hung up on her ex-fiance. Since then, there has been plenty of bitching, back-biting and accusations that people are not “here for the right reasons.”
The show began with 30 women fighting for the heart of new Bachelor Clayton Echard – 29 if we discount the contestant who didn’t make it to the first night.
Clayton has said goodbye to seven women so far. As there are always so many women at this point in The Bachelor, it can be hard keeping up with who is left and who has gone. Read on to see all the contestants who have said goodbye in Season 26.
Who Has Left The Bachelor So Far?
The first contestant to leave this year was Claire Hellig. The 28-year-old spray tanner from Virginia Beach, Virginia, may have had the shortest run of any Bachelor contestant ever.
In the first episode, she revealed that this was the day she was supposed to have been getting married, but that she had been dumped by her groom to be.
Amazingly, the answer to her heartbreak was not trying to find love with someone else on national television. Before the first night, Claire knocked on Clayton’s door to tell him she had doubts she could continue on the show.
The whole thing looked like producer contrivance – Clayton would reassure her she should continue with the process and she could agree, making her an early frontrunner. But that was not the case – Claire decided to leave before even putting her ballgown on.
The other 29 women made it to the first night cocktail party, but seven of them probably wish they hadn’t. The following women were sent home by Clayton in week one:
Daria Rose, 24, a law student from Baldwin, New York (who revealed after her elimination that she had spent $2,000 on clothes for the show)Hailey Malles, 26, a pediatric nurse from Orlando, FloridaIvana Noble, 31, a bar mitzvah dancer from Snellville, GeorgiaJane Paik, 33, a social media director from Los Angeles, CaliforniaLindsay Dobbs, 27, a neonatal nurse from Warner Robins, GeorgiaRianna Hockaday, 26, a registered nurse from Mount Pleasant, TexasSamantha Jeffries, 26, an occupational therapist from Dayton, Ohio
In week two, no one went home – even though Cassidy looks like she is close to leaving after it was revealed she had a man waiting for her at home.
There will be no eliminations for two more weeks, as The Bachelor is taking a break on January 17. The next episode (and the next rose ceremony) will be on January 24.
The Bachelor Season 26 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT on ABC. Episodes are available to watch on demand on Hulu.
