In the upcoming season of The Bachelor, there is a girl without an age. Her name is Bekah, and her bio on ABC mysteriously does not list her age. On E!'s rundown of the contestants, her age is listed as "not applicable." In the teaser for the show, which was released Monday night, other contestants are shown discussing Bekah's age.
"I wonder if her age is going to be a deal breaker," one girl says.
Another, a contestant named Chelsea, says, "I think she is reluctant to tell Arie how old she is." Presumably, she's talking about Bekah. (It's hard to tell with these promos, which like to actively misdirect and mislead viewers. She could be talking about her grandmother, for all we know.)
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Wells Adams, a former Bachelorette contestant, shared his thoughts on the matter on Twitter.
"Age [is] not applicable? I'm I gonna have to start carding people in Paradise?" he wrote. It's unlikely that Bekah is too young to drink, however; the application for The Bachelor has an age minimum of 21.
Age in not applicable? I'm I gonna have to start carding people in Paradise? #thebachelor pic.twitter.com/m2pzpSSr18
— Wells Adams (@WellsAdams) December 9, 2017
Elite Daily pointed out last week that Bekah might actually be 22 — the youngest of all the contestants this year. Bekah appears to have celebrated her 21st birthday in February of 2016, which means she would have been freshly 22 at the time of filming. This isn't unprecedented, though. In 2014, Cassandra Ferguson, a 22-year-old mother, competed for the heart of Juan-Pablo Galavis on The Bachelor. Galavis was 32.
Given that the Bachelor this year is 36, Bekah's age might be a source of conflict — if she is indeed 22. On Rachel Lindsay's season of The Bachelorette, she seemed troubled by Dean Unglert's age. He was just 26, and she was 31. (Lindsay didn't end up with Unglert, and instead chose the oldest contestant, Bryan Abasolo, who was 37 at the time of filming.)
In Bekah's case, it's more likely her age will become an issue with the other contestants. We can already predict the woman-to-woman age-shaming.
Watch the full teaser trailer for The Bachelor season 22, below.
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