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Vilified Bachelorette Contestant Apologizes For 'Unacceptable' Behavior

Hayden Markowitz faced an online backlash after calling Gabby and Rachel 'b*tches' on Monday night's episode.
posted by Kirstie Renae
Tuesday 8/2/2022 at 4:19PM EDT
  • Hayden Markowitz (Photo: ABC)
    Hayden Markowitz (Photo: ABC)

    The Bachelorette fans were left reeling after a display of truly awful behavior on Monday night's episode from contestant Hayden Markowitz.

    The 29-year-old not only used derogatory and sexist words to refer to the show's leads, Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia, but also exploited his dog's cancer to try and get ahead despite not being interested in pursuing a relationship on the show.

    Markowitz, who was already under fire after last week's episode for saying Windey was too "rough around the edges" for him, continued his trash talk back at the mansion after being called out for the comment.

    "My dumb ass uses the same verbiage that Gabby uses to describe herself and she didn't like that. Well, b*tch, maybe you shouldn't use that word to describe yourself then," he said. "I've been comparing my ex to, like, [Rachel and Gabby] right? They don't hold a candle to her. And I don't want to just settle. I can tell you right now, I don't see how any guy in here could be, like, 'I'm f*cking marrying these girls.'"

    Even though Markowitz asserted that he had no interest in dating either Bachelorette, he continued to try and get a rose from Recchia. Markowitz told the sad story about how his dog, Rambo, was diagnosed with a brain tumor and only had a few months left to live.

    "I'm obviously telling you this because I want you to understand that, you know, I wouldn't be here if my intentions weren't to try to obviously further our relationship," he said, before pulling out Rambo's beloved stuffed animal "cancer duck," which Markowitz said helped the dog get through treatments.

    Needless to say, fans didn't take kindly to Markowitz using his dying dog to get a rose after it was clear that he didn't want to date either bachelorette. One fan tweeted, "I'm sorry but I would never go on a reality tv show for potentially 3 months if my beloved pet had less than a year left to live and I certainly wouldn't use that situation to manipulate someone into pursuing love with me further."

    Other fans couldn't believe that Markowitz lied to Recchia's face when she confronted him about his harsh comments.

    Luckily, Recchia saw through Markowitz and ultimately kicked him out.

    Markowitz posted to his Instagram after the episode, calling his behavior his "absolute worst and lowest moment" and saying that he was "not mentally or emotionally prepared" to be a contestant on the show. He apologized to both leads for his "complete lapse of judgement" and "unacceptable" behavior.

    Frankly, we'd also like an apology for Rambo.

    The Bachelorette airs on ABC at 8 PM ET on Mondays.

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    Kirstie Renae is a writer, blogger, and Austin-based actress with a penchant for binge-watching TV with her dogs. Follow her on Twitter @KirstieRenae.

    TOPICS: The Bachelorette, ABC, Gabby Windey, Hayden Markowitz, Rachel Recchia


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