Bachelor Fans Were Rooting For You, Tammy

When Tammy Ly bluntly explained the premise of The Bachelor to Kelsey Weir — that he dates other people and that's what they signed up for — fans were lauding Tammy as a Bachelor hero. But they may have spoken a little too soon.

Sure, Tammy made that relatable horrified face during the group date photoshoot when Peter made out with someone right behind her. In that moment, she was such a delight to watch. She seemed to be a no-nonsense contestant who says things we armchair critics think we would say on the show. But then things got a little nasty. Soon Tammy was calling Kelsey out for supposedly drinking too much and telling her to "wither away in bottles of wine." Tammy also called Kelsey "nuts" and "crazy." We probably don't need to explain why that's not cool. The sadder thing is, Tammy was the closest thing we got to a potential fan favorite. She was practically pre-writing her Bachelor in Paradise script until she started accusing a fellow contestant of alcoholism.

It's been hard to find a consistent hero this season. Almost everyone has done something that makes watching their journey to love a little frustrating. Victoria Fuller modeled for what appears to be a White Lives Matter clothing line (it's been reported that the photo is from a regrettable campaign for marlin conservation, rather than anti-Black Lives Matter movement, but that's not much better). Victoria Paul was not entirely truthful about her past with Alayah Benavidez, despite there being evidence of their friendship. Madison Prewett may have started a fan account on Instagram for herself; a possibility that arose when reddit users caught her lauding herself on an Instagram post for being "so genuine and real." Season 24 has yet give us a contestant to really root for — even Kelsey, who's quite sympathetic this week, spent Champagne-gate throwing slings at Hannah Ann Sluss, who's also been not-so-kind to her fellow contestants. The whole Tammy thing is was just icing on the cake. But she's not the hero we were hoping for. In the words of Tyra Banks, We were rooting for you, Tammy!

The nature of The Bachelor is to pit women against each other, but it's a bummer that someone as smart and naturally funny and understanding of the wild process as Tammy could so quickly turn, quite aggressively, on one of the other women on the show. Questioning someone else's mental or emotional stability or their drinking habits the way Tammy did (by calling Kelsey out to the man they are dating) is unacceptable behavior; it's also none of Tammy's business. While committing one of the classic Bachelor faux pas of tattling to the lead about behavior that goes on behind his back did work for the women who went after Alayah, it's never a good idea. Instead of focusing on her relationship with Peter, Tammy let her frustration with Kelsey take over. No one wins in that situation, especially Tammy — and everyone who was rooting for Tammy.

Ashley Spivey, a former contestant on the show, was just as bummed about Tammy's attacks on Kelsey — especially since she's been in Kelsey's shoes. "Little sad at Tammy’s wine and cry shaming - not gonna lie," she wrote on Twitter. She then added that the show was emotional for her to compete on as well, like it has been for Kelsey. "I cried every day in the house. Most people did. You are away from your friends and your fam and you can’t talk to them. You are barely sleeping. You are super bloated from all the alcohol or constipation. You talk about your baggage all day. It’s rough." Who wouldn't be emotional in that scenario?

It's understandable that Tammy was perhaps a little annoyed that Kelsey was complaining about the fact that Peter is dating all of them at once, because that is the premise of the dang show. But there were better ways to express that frustration than tattling to Peter and shaming Kelsey for being emotional and soothing her nerves with the everpresent free Bachelor wine.

Bachelor fans are used to contestants making regrettable choices, but we're nearly halfway through the season at this point. We should have at least one hero by now. In many ways, Tammy felt like our last hope, but from the looks of the episode 6 promo, that hope is pretty shattered.