ATLANTA — A contestant on reality show The Bachelorette is under scrutiny after reports surfaced that he had a girlfriend while on the show.
The outrage sparked after fans of the ABC show watched Monday night's episode.
Before the episode aired, fans already had suspicions about Jed Wyatt. After some digging around on social media, fans discovered that the 25-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee allegedly had a girlfriend, Haley Stevens, while on The Bachelorette.
The show, in its 15th season, aired the "Hometown Dates" episode, where the Bachelorette, Hannah Brown, went to the hometowns of the four men still on the show.
Wyatt's home in Nashville was Hannah's final home visit. When they got to the city, the pair went to a recording studio and wrote a song. Everything was "love on cobblestone streets" until they went to the Wyatt family home.
When the pair arrived they were greeted by Jed's mother, father, sister and a few other family members. The family sat down to eat, and Jed decided to make a toast to "falling in love." To which his mother responded, "Cheers to owning your truth."
Fans believed this to be proof of Jed's cheating. However, things got even more heated as the episode went on. The family had one-on-one discussions with Hannah, and fans were shocked at the responses from Jed's mother and sister.
Both told the Bachelorette that they weren't sure if Jed was ready to be engaged.
“I’m not sure if him falling in love with you is a good thing,” Jed's sister, Lily, said.
His mother also emphasized his career as a musician possibly getting in the way of a real relationship.
Fans believe that Jed is simply on the show to promote his music career and that he never had any real interest in Hannah Brown.
Jed responded to the hate after the episode with an Instagram post. A photo of he and his family was accompanied by a long caption claiming his family has faced lots of harassment from fans. He simply requested "patience and kindness" until the end of the show.
Everyone will find out in the next episodes what Jed's intentions really are.
