'Bachelorette' Fans Think They Finally Proved the Show Is Staged

The Bachelorette is beloved for always bringing the drama, but this season, some fans are alleging that the reality show is staged—and it's not for reasons you might think.

In Season 21, Episode 2, contestants Aaron Erb and Devin Strader had major beef over Jenn Tran, leading Erb to give Strader a self-help book. It was a callback to Season 16, when Bennett Jordan gave Aaron's twin brother, Noah Erb, a book on emotional intelligence.

You can relive that cringe-worthy experience here:

In Monday night's episode, Aaron, who kept calling Strader "Dylan," referred to Strader as a "bully" and gave him a passive aggressive lecture after Strader spent solo time with Tran during a group date.

“Honestly, I'm supportive of you and I just wanted to encourage you. I have a little something to give you,” Aaron said. "I brought this with me. It's my own book. It’s something I've read a few times. It's helped me grow as a person. I want to give it to you because I want to see you win, and if it's with Jenn, I'm supporting you, if it's with someone else, I just want to see you do your best."

Related: Meet the 25 Men Vying for Bachelorette Jenn Tran’s Heart

He then handed Strader a copy of a book called Principles for Self Growth: How to Understand Yourself and Gain Emotional Depth by Dr. Brandon O'Conner.

Fans were quick to notice the nod to Noah, with one writing, "If I had a nickel for every time one man gives another man a book on emotional intelligence, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice #thebachelorette #bachelorette."

Others chimed in:

Related: Hannah Brown Speaks Candidly About Whether The Bachelorette Was a Mistake

Why do fans think The Bachelorette is staged?

However unlikely to have happened organically, the fact that a book was part of the plotline isn't even the entire issue for Bachelorette viewers after Monday's episode. Here's where eagled-eyed fans started to think this viral moment was bogus, even by Bachelorette standards: Aside from the callback to Aaron's twin's self-help scene, the book Principles for Self Growth by Dr. Brandon O'Conner appears to not actually exist.

There is no book by that title and author on any online bookstores, no author pages for O'Conner, no publishing details or anything else that would give the tome any legitimacy. Further, Bachelorette fans noticed that there was actually a typo on the book's spine, leading it to read as "Priciples" instead of "Principles."

While it's possible the entire scenario was planted by producers (because, well, reality TV isn't exactly "reality" all the time), it's also possible—if not probable—that Aaron did, in fact, pack a book with his pearls to take to Australia, and that producers put a faux book jacket over the actual book for the same reason that brand logos on clothing are often blurred out.

That said, if Dr. Brandon O'Conner does exist and did truly author this book, he should hurry up and get it online. We have a feeling he'll almost never get better free advertising than this.

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