They didn't come here to make friends...
We're halfway through Hannah Brown's season of The Bachelorette -- and Luke Parker is still here.
The controversial contestant has been making headlines since night one for his early chemistry with Brown, his fights with the other men and his shocking comments about women's sexuality, but she continues to keep him around, and judging by promos, he'll be here for a while. Host Chris Harrison recently told ET that he's never quite seen a Bachelor franchise villain like Parker, who monopolizes much of the drama of the season.
"We've never had a season where a villain -- if you want to call Luke that -- has such a prominent role, where they really dominate the landscape and storyline for so long," he shared, revealing that part of that has to do with Brown's response to the drama. "Hannah likes Luke P., and the more he gets beat on and she gets beat on, the more defensive and angry she gets."
That's not to say that villains don't make it far. In fact, we've had controversial contestants make it as far as the finale of the show -- and sometimes win. Here are the Bachelor villains who went far:
Corinne Olympios (Final Four on Nick Viall's Season)
Though by the end of the 2017 season, Olympios became more of a fan favorite, the Miami native asserting herself in the competition (going topless on a group date, organizing a bounce house for Viall during a pool party and showing up to a cocktail party with a trench coat and whipped cream) plus her early fights with Taylor Nolan put her in villain territory. Olympios ended up making it to Viall's top four, sent home by the Bachelor after her hometown date.
Nick Viall (Runner-Up on Kaitlyn Bristowe's Season)
Before he became the Bachelor, Viall was a Bachelorette villain. After placing second on Andi Dorfman's 2014 season (and publicly discussing their fantasy suite), Viall slid into Bristowe's 2015 season of The Bachelorette, weeks into the competition. The men were clearly upset by having one more man to compete with, and that jealously lived on for the remainder of the show. And it didn't help that he scored some extra time with the Bachelorette; Bristowe later revealed to her men that she and Viall had sex before fantasy suites. The then-two time contestant became a runner-up once more when Bristowe eliminated him for Shawn Booth. Viall redeemed himself in Bachelor in Paradise in 2016 and then, of course, became the Bachelor.
Courtney Robertson (Winner on Ben Flajnik's Season)
Robertson turned her villain label into a profit with the release of her book, I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends: Confessions of a Reality Show Villain. The model had a clear connection with Flajnik from the beginning of the season, and made it clear to the other women that she wasn't interested in playing nice. A skinny dip in the ocean with Flajnik and several confrontations with other contestants had women warning Flajnik about Robertson, but he didn't listen; he proposed to her on his season finale. The two broke up after his proposal, but reconciled by "After the Final Rose," only to break up for good months later, in October 2012.
Bentley Williams (Ninth-ish on Ashley Hebert's Season)
One of the few contestants to play into his dark side on camera, Williams admitted on the show that he looked forward to making Hebert cry when he took himself out of the competition in week three of her 2011 season. He returned three weeks later, asking to rejoin the show in Prague. Hebert heard him out, but realized he led her on and that she was better off spending her time with the remaining men, so she let him go.
Michelle Money (Final Five on Brad Womack's Second Season)
Money was a certified villain on Womack's second season in 2011, fighting with the other women as early as episode two over the Bachelor's affection. She continued to steal him throughout the season, but also earned roses -- until the week before hometown dates. In week seven, Womack canceled the cocktail party and went straight to the rose ceremony, sending Money home. Like Viall, the single mom redeemed herself on Bachelor in Paradise in 2014.
Wes Hayden (Final Four on Jillian Harris' Season)
Hayden proudly tooted his own horn for making it as far as he did while having a girlfriend outside of the show (sound familiar?) in 2009. A musician (also sound familiar?), Hayden first irked the other guys with his constant singing, though they later discovered that he had a relationship waiting for him at home. Jake Pavelka returned from elimination to share the news with Harris, who sent Hayden home at final four.
Vienna Girardi (Winner on Jake Pavelka's Season)
Pavelka became the Bachelor the following year, afterwhich he found himself falling for a villain as well. Like other Bachelor villains, Girardi became a target for stealing time with the lead, no matter what the other contestants thought. Pavelka ended up choosing Girardi over Tenley Molzahn in the finale, only for him and Girardi to end their relationship in a nasty split months later.
Hannah Brown (Top Seven on Colton Underwood's Season)
Our current Bachelorette was once considered a villain herself, for her feud with fellow contestant Caelynn Miller-Keyes on Colton Underwood's season. Constant back-and-forths (and slamming each other to Underwood) made her a big source of drama in the house, though she and Miller-Keyes later agreed to put the drama behind them before Brown's elimination in week seven.
Still, Brown admits that it's unusual for a woman with her Bachelor background to become a franchise lead. "I was the villain. I was the emotional trainwreck," she confessed to ET at her first Bachelorette photo shoot. "I didn't just coast through at all. I wasn't just coasting in the back corner, that's for sure."
We'll see how far Parker makes it as Brown's season continues to air this summer. The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Join ET's Bachelor Nation Facebook group here.
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