Joey Graziadei's season of The Bachelor kicked off with a sweet moment of "can I steal him for a moment?" drama, and the return of a pesky Bachelor tradition: siblings trying to date the same guy.
Sisters Lauren, 28, and Allison Hollinger, 26, of Philadelphia, initially tried to keep their relationship a secret but eventually told Joy and other contestants. The main character of Season 28 expressed his concerns about the development.
"It's hard for me to even think about dating 32 women at the same time, let alone sisters," he told the camera. "I have to be more careful about this because it creates a lot of problems."
Rather than putting its lead character in such an embarrassing predicament, maybe it's time for "The Bachelor" to change its most contrived casting practices.
The messy franchise tradition
This isn't the first time Bachelor Nation has cast siblings on the same season. Twins Emily and Hayley Ferguson are probably the most famous pair. The two found love on Ben Higgins' 2016 season of The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise before marrying men outside of the franchise entirely.
Most recently, Justin and Joey Young competed on the 2022 season of The Bachelorette co-hosted by Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia, and then on Paradise .
So far, none of the stunt casting of siblings has resulted in a lasting relationship—and sometimes things get Disney Channel sitcom-level weirdness, like when Emily and Haley switch places to test a potential suitor's savvy .
Prioritize drama over love
Sure, it's kind of fun to pull the sibling switcher! But this can be detrimental to real-life connections. Given the series' recent missteps (for example , zero couples are still together in Bachelor in Paradise season 9 ), it seems like there should be more investment in strong relationships.
That's not to say Lauren and Allison aren't serious . There was a what-if version of the season where they were given their own space and their relationship wasn't treated as a gimmick. (Their official Bachelor careers include being each other's sisters.) But the Bachelor 's dating format has become inextricably divorced from real life. Layer yet another gimmick on top of the entire rose-filled journey, and Joey and the sisters fail. Why would he seriously pursue a relationship where someone would almost certainly get hurt, when he could have his pick of 30 other women?
Are Bachelor Siblings Twisted?
That being said, there's definitely something compelling about siblings in the TV dating world. It's fun to pick a team and see how your preferences affect you - are you a Conrad girl or a Jeremiah girl? Damon or Stefan?
But in order to translate the sibling love triangle well into real-life dating, it wouldn't be fair to have these two fighting over the same person. Perhaps the series could take a cue from Gabby and Rachel's season: play dual protagonists and have them date their respective suitors. Their seasons are the most interesting when suitors have to decide which Bachelorette they connect with more closely. This way, you'll have some tension while still giving each sibling a fairer chance of finding a match.
Also, can you imagine the dialogue? Endless discussions with friends about why you chose the soft-spoken educator over his freewheeling artist brother? (I'm exaggerating, but you get my point.) Anyway, ABC, call me!
