Dean Unglert was once the darling of Bachelor Nation. He revealed depths of maturity his Bachelorette lead Rachel Lindsay never expected from a 26-year-old suitor and gave viewers a hometown date for the books. Then… Bachelor In Paradise happened. After a messy summer in Mexico, Unglert became the poster boy for reality TV fuckboi-ery. Months later, he used Bachelor Winter Games to clean up his image by entering a stable, sweet, and ultimately doomed relationship with Lesley Murphy. After almost a year in the Bachelor(ette) machine, he was able to fade from any true drama.
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Yet, somehow, the scandal bug quietly bit Unglert once again with Tuesday night’s Bachelor “Women Tell All” special. Amid all of the yelling, crying, and showering, Unglert’s name and the status of his DMs were thrown into the scream-y mix. If you were really paying attention during the loud reunion, it’s impossible not to leave the special wondering if Unglert is quietly picking up Underwood’s exes (or they're pursuing him).
The major red flag appeared in a sequence so volatile that some fans likely didn’t even catch it. Towards the beginning of “WTA,” host Chris Harrison tries to get to the bottom of Katie Morton’s season-exploding comments about someone not being on The Bachelor for the right reasons. At last, she confirms she was speaking about Cassie Randolph and Caelynn Miller-Keyes. As Morton and Miller-Keyes argue about the validity of these accusations, Morton finally says, “I said, ‘What you’re valuing in your life right now: Clubbing, sliding into Dean’s DMs, all the things you were listing.’” If viewers were unsure which “Dean” Katie was talking about, Kirpa Sudick clarified, adding, “When I’m hearing you talking about sliding into other cast members’ DMs from previous seasons.”
There is only one famous, social media savvy “Dean” from a previous season of the Bachelor(ette) mega franchise: the one, the only, Deanie Babies, a confirmed pal of Colton Underwood. Unfortunately, “Women Tell All” ringleader Harrison steered the conversation away from a wild, fascinating Unglert reference and towards Hannah Brown’s “read” of former rival Miller-Keyes’ alleged Bachelorette conversation. Therefore the only facts we're left with is that at least two Bachelor contestants believe Miller-Keyes attempted to hit up Unglert, likely before production of Underwood’s season even began (since no one has cell phone access during filming). It’s worth noting neither Miller-Keyes nor Unglert currently follow the other on Instagram, the preferred app for DM sliding.
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However, one of Undewood’s other rejects is a mutual follower with Unglert — the only one from the Bachelor season 23 crew, as intense Instagram research proves — and has already expressed interest in the podcast host. As Bri Barnes, of fake Australian accent fame, told E! News earlier this week, “I've had my eye on Dean for a little bit.” That's no lie, as Barnes has definitely pressed the like button on, at minimum, this shirtless photo of Unglert. He also liked Barnes' latest upload, where she's wearing a sports bra.
With all this social media love in the air, it's no surprised Barnes added in her E! interview, “I'm hoping that maybe he gets the chance to go on [Bachelor In] Paradise."
While Unglert hasn’t commented on his summer plans yet, he does seem to be one of the most popular men in the franchise. He has a podcast with fellow multi-series staple Jared Haibon and Bachelor “winner” Vanessa Grimaldi. He counts a deep bench of Bachelor Nation hunks of friends, including the popular BFFship Jason Tartick and Blake Horstmann. Plus, he is often spotted with Bachelor white whale Peter Kraus and Grimaldi’s ex, Nick Viall. With near-endless connections like these, it’s difficult to imagine Unglert can stay away from the Bachelor franchise cameras for long.
We may have just found Paradise’s No. 1 draft pick.