The Bachelor season 28 wedding-themed group date was one of the worst in the show's history, triggering Lauren's deep grief and causing a major conflict within the group.
The Bachelor has had some cringeworthy group dates over the years. One of the worst was Joey and the women's wedding-themed group date. The date was so poorly executed that it was the worst in the history of the show.
During The Bachelor season 28 episode 2, Joey had two group dates and a one-on-one date with Daisy Kent. During the second group date, the women played paintball. The first group date, which was wedding-themed, was the worst in Bachelor history. The nine women chosen for the date--Rachel Nance, Taylor Wiens, Kelsey Toussant, Lexi Young, Evalin Clark, Erika Cardenas, Maria Georgas, Lauren Hollinger, and Jess Edwards-- dressed in white wedding dresses and attended a mock wedding reception for themselves and Joey. The worst part of this date was that it was the worst group date in Bachelor history.
The wedding group date began with the women rushing into a room in the Bachelor Mansion to pick out their wedding dresses. Despite the frenzy to choose a dress, Rachel accidentally knocked over one of the racks of dresses and fell to the floor. Daisy Kent, who wasn't chosen for the date, wondered if it was a blessing in disguise that she wasn't picked because she thought it was unlucky to see the bride in a wedding dress before the wedding.
Maria lamented to Lauren that she thought that she looked like "a 40-year-old woman dressed like her mother for a wedding." In her confessional, she said that she was getting really excited to picture that she'd be walking down the aisle to see Joey, but it would annoy her to turn back and see all of the other women in wedding dresses too. However, Maria added that she loved it, and there was so much she wanted to know about Joey.
Starr Skyler pointed out that Joey was visualizing the wedding dresses of the women he was interested in. This terrified her that she wasn't one of them, making her feel desperate to get married. It was the first time that the women were dressed in wedding dresses, which is a very unnatural thing to do if a person isn't actually getting married. This date made Joey and Starr feel desperate to get married.
Lauren, whose sister, Allison, was participating in the show with her, was deeply affected throughout the date as her father's passing seven months prior left her still navigating the grieving process. It gradually dawned on her that her father would not be present at her wedding, leading to a sense of emptiness and disconnection at the reception. Despite the festive atmosphere surrounding her, Lauren felt compelled to remain detached from the joyous celebration, as her focus remained on the pain of losing her father.
Maria helped Lauren by talking through it with her. Lauren confessed that she was "salty" because she ended up in a wedding challenge. She didn't even talk to Joey during the wedding reception because she felt that her energy was so off. At the after-party, Lauren told Joey how she was feeling and cried. He was very understanding. However, Lauren ended up self-eliminating from the competition during the pre-rose ceremony cocktail party after all of the stress.
The absurdity of the date became apparent when Joey told the women, "We're going to imagine that we all just got married." They had to imagine that they were about to have the wedding reception. Rachel added to the ridiculousness by saying in her confessional, "I never thought I'd be at my own wedding with nine brides." Jesse then introduced a reception full of strangers to "Mr. and Mrs. and Mrs. and Mrs. and Mrs. and Mrs. and Mrs. and Mrs. and Mrs. and Mrs. and Mrs. and Mrs. Joey Graziadei!" highlighting the foolishness.
Evalin jumped across the table in her wedding dress to grab the seat and landed on Lauren. Joey gave her an A-plus for effort, but Lauren was there first. Maria and Lauren won the seats next to Joey. Joey then mingled with the guests with Maria, cut the cake with Taylor, and ate the cake with Erika. He also had a few brief conversations with Evalin throughout the evening, but it was evident that he was not fully engaged. There was a sense of childishness and desperation in the way he interacted with the other contestants, suggesting that he was still immature and not ready for marriage.
At the wedding reception, the guests began to clink their glasses when Taylor and Rachel were talking. Taylor and Rachel shared a kiss in front of the other women while eating cupcakes. Joey and Rachel shared a kiss in front of the other women while eating cupcakes. Taylor gave them a thumbs down and commented in her confessional that they already knew that Rachel received Joey's first kiss, so Taylor wasn't happy about having to watch them kiss again. On premiere night, Rachel had told all of the women about her kiss with Joey. Joey eventually gave Rachel the group date rose after she opened up to him about her past relationship.
"Rachel poured out her heart in a magnificent toast, calling herself "Mrs. G" and acting as though she were at her and Joey's wedding. She showered him with compliments, highlighting his intelligence and kindness. Joey was completely captivated by her words, and he couldn't resist when she called him onstage to dance with him."
Joey and Rachel danced passionately on the dance floor in front of the entire guest list, leaving the other women in awe. Michael Bolton took the stage to perform "When a Man Loves a Woman" live, captivating the audience with his captivating performance. The night was filled with romance and intimacy as Joey and Rachel danced closely, their connection evident in Rachel's confessional.
During the date, Joey didn't have the opportunity to connect with Lauren. This was partly because Lauren was wary of him due to her feelings of sadness, but it was also because the date itself was less conducive to him establishing a deeper relationship with the women. Instead of mingling with strangers at a fake wedding reception, which was not a traditional setting for a romantic proposal, Joey was left with little time to get to know the women he might be proposing to in such a short period.
Forcing women to dress up in wedding dresses and watch each other kiss and dance with the man they're all dating is not only insensitive but also demeaning to the women involved. It reduces their worth to competing for attention and undermines their strength and success. The incident highlights the objectification and reduction of women in the reality TV genre.
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